From the Archive: Oreoluwa's Findings - The Valerie J. Maynard Foundation

The Valerie J. Maynard Foundation

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From the Archive: Oreoluwa’s Findings

April 9, 2026

My name is Oreoluwa Ifamodupe Akinyode and I am the Associate Archivist at Valerie J. Maynard Foundation. I am specifically a caretaker within the Photographic, Multimedia, and Born-Digital collections.

Within this expansive collection and glimpse into the world of Valerie Maynard is the spirit of an individual who was committed to persistent looking and making these visions tangible via sculptures, printmaking, drawing, painting, photography, and video.

As a curious cat myself, I am honored to be processing the photographic collection of Valerie Maynard. The images presented below are a glimpse into the carefully imaged moments that Valerie found worthy of documenting. These images are scans of 4”x6” prints made from 35mm photographic negatives. These intimate prints are ones that traditionally one may have placed into a photo album or made several copies, as Valerie did, to share with a loved one who may have been imaged!

The images featured here are processed and scanned for the foundation’s interest in photos connected to Valerie’s time in Baltimore. When given this task I was initially afraid it would be difficult to locate Baltimore specific photos as Valerie traveled plenty and has thousands of images! My fear did not last long as Valerie’s spirit within her home is one that quickly answers prayer requests! Shortly after being given tasks I trusted my inner voice and found a box of images that were primarily color photographs of Baltimore in the early 1990s and early 1980s. The images shown below are a peek into this discovery!

These images humanize Valerie for me so deeply. Getting to see how she walked the streets of Baltimore, not as someone separate from the place she lived and created in. She was often amongst the land, water, community, and people she made work about and in response to. These images are just a small batch of the thousands of images within the photo processing room. In sharing these images, I invite you all to spark up a conversation with your elders and young ones as you sort through family albums with a pen and paper document the people within these images and the stories associated with them. The best time to do this work is now! Let this be an invitation! Get to those photos, and start organizing them