Cynthia Gordy Giwa & Tayo Giwa are writers, photographers and filmmakers who live and create in Brooklyn. A married couple, they are the creators of Black-Owned Brooklyn, an online publication in which they document and preserve local Black business, culture and history. The Giwas founded the site in 2018 with photographer Glenn Alan (no longer affiliated with the project) as a small act of service journalism, and it grew swiftly into the premier record for Black Brooklyn’s people, places and products.

Cynthia and Tayo also direct and produce independent films. Their 2022 documentary feature The Sun Rises in The East, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, chronicles The East, a pan-African cultural organization built by young people in 1970’s Bedford-Stuyvesant. Their 2000 documentary short, Soul Summit: Doin’ It in the Park, tells the story of Fort Greene’s iconic Soul Summit house music party. 

In addition, Cynthia and Tayo curate and produce large-scale community events. Their installations have included a holiday pop-up in Atlantic Center Mall and an annual Juneteenth Food Festival in collaboration with Weeksville Heritage Center.

Cynthia has written extensively about issues at the intersection of race, culture and politics. She worked in journalism for nearly a decade, as Essence’s first ever White House correspondent and the magazine’s news editor, as well as senior political correspondent for The Root. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, NPR and Slate. 

Tayo is a documentary photographer who focuses on cultural gatherings and portraiture. As a film director, he seeks to unearth history that should be more widely known. Tayo has also worked for 15 years as a media and technology lawyer specializing in intellectual property, contracts and emerging technology.