Keturah Ceasar
PhillyCAM member Keturah Ceasar transitioned on Saturday, October 21st. She was a truly vibrant and creative soul who we lost too soon. Born and raised in West Philly, she was a filmmaker, photographer, activist, and ex b-girl. She brought great passion, activism and seriously fly style to all she did.
Keturah first came to PhillyCAM to intern while she was studying film at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. At the conclusion of her internships she became a member and continued to broaden her skills in studio and field production. She was often seen assisting producers Charles Gregory and Tisha Crippen of We Talk Weekly, Zarinah Lomax of Walking the Talk and many others. She even convinced PhillyCAM’s Technical Director Ryan Saunders to be talent in one of her personal projects.
Keturah joined Lauren Settles and Shyneice Shalay for their version of “The View” to talk about combatting gun violence in Philly neighborhoods during the PhillyCAM Live Lunch programming during the Democratic National Convention. https://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/BYZxzRoRv7IoaYynQYVU7BGYzrtXvUiD/media/272247?fullscreen=false&showtabssearch=true&autostart=false
Also during the summer of 2016 she taught kids about digital photography at rec centers across the city as part of a series of workshops coordinated by PhillyCAM for Play Philly. Most recently Keturah was working with youth in the after school program at the Honickman Learning Center in North Philadelphia where she taught students how to create meaningful messages through media.She shared her love of photography with her students and helped them to embrace their uniqueness,creativity and power through several art based events,trips and workshops.
Before coming to PhillyCAM Keturah was a b-girl known as Krazzy K. Her interest in media crystallized in 2008 while working on a documentary about the Philly Hip Hop scene. Here is an interview with her and the film’s co-producer Nikki Harris that appeared in Phrequency http://www.philly.com/philly/phrequency/It_Takes_Raw_Talent_.html
Her love of Hip Hop evolved into activism. She was an organizer in 2011 with the Hip Hop Party for the People and Philly Stand Up! She used culture and art to give youth and young adults a voice about education, employment and access to programs that would keep them active and safe.
Her Hip Hop aesthetic ran through all her work. In March of 2017 she took the reins to direct the Live Culture episode featuring of course, amazing dance crews. It was definitely Krazzy!Check out the trailer for the show. https://vimeo.com/207644696
Here you can reach an interview with Keturah conducted by LIssa Alicia that appeared on the Philadelphia Printworks website in 2014.
Rest in power, Keturah.