LAUREL, Md. — From the big screen to the a local DMV museum, Tracy Camila Johns is sharing her art with people in a November exhibit in Laurel.
Johns, who is 60-years-young, was the lead actress of Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It," playing the role of Nola Darling, which came out in 1986. The New York-native has been quietly living in the DMV area for more than 25 years enjoying the beauty of Maryland.
One way she is doing just that is through her photography.
"So I am a photographer, but really, I'm an artist on a lot of levels, but there's a really kind of profound story," she said.
Growing up in New York, where Johns had so much access to everything from museums to art classes she always been encouraged to absorb everything art related, and not just from her surroundings, but also from her mom. She helped her create a portfolio to enter art school for college, even hiding it from her dad, who at the time was against the move, until she got accepted.
"When I went into the industry, which is really funny, when I was in the thickness of my actual acting career, it was like I lost the gift. Like, I couldn't draw. And I always loved photography. I couldn't take a picture. Like, literally, if you asked me to do something, they would say, you were an art major," she said with a small chuckle on her lips. "But when I came out of the industry, I kind of dove head first into creative things to kind of keep myself busy. And it was literally like the gift just came back to me and actually really increased."
The photographer loves taking in beautiful sunrises and sunsets, which inspires her art as she has traveled through the years as the sky is painted differently in each location. "So I just really am grateful that I'm really inspired by the normal, which is really the focus of this particular exhibit, because Laurel is a nice, kind know, quiet city in the midst of the DMV. And the most beautiful pictures I have taken are things that people walk past every day."
At the Laurel Museum, in 2023, the theme explores the city itself. Johns says she approached the director of the museum early this year expressing how she has captured so many images of Laurel that could be used. Once she shared her portfolio the rest is history as she was offered a temporary exhibit month -- November.
Over more than a decade, Johns has found herself spending a lot of time at the lake taking photos, which have become very personal to her.
"Everything from the animals, because they're these amazing birds that inhabit the lake, to the foliage, to just the transition between seasons," Johns said explaining her echibit. "And then in the common spaces in Laurel, every year, there's a certain kind of landscaping that they change, and they've had hibiscus, and they've had hydrangea, and they have different things from year-to-year."
Photos captured by Tracy Johns
The opening reception for the exhibit, which is her first, was on Nov. 3, and will be rotated out of the museum on the Nov. 26. The museum is open Friday-Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Johns says the interest in the exhibit has picked up as people have been wondering what the girl from the movie has been doing -- also excited about that she can take a "decent picture." She says some people who also don't live in the area have also been visiting the attraction.
"Just very honest. I'm a Black American actress. I'm very active in the faith community in this area," she said. "And so we're just getting a lot of people that, even from out of the area, coming into law to see the exhibit. And if my name and my background can do that, then I'm grateful."
And when it comes to her acting, she has always been able to intertwine her art into it, and vice versa.
"Well, it's kind of ironic because the character in the movie, Noah Darling, apart from everything else that she was, she was an artist. And that was part of Spike incorporating, as he very much did, particularly in his earlier movies, parts of his life and life with people around him. So he know of my interest in illustration and the arts. So Noah Darling was an artist, but when he did a reboot for Netflix of the movie as a TV show, I did a cameo at the end of the first season, and I was indeed an art patron intersecting with the new Nola," she said explaining how art has always been a part of her life.
She says also having a greater understanding of filmmaking has benefited her photography.
In her spare time she spends time helping out the community and underserved population, aside from her different forms of art she tackles, and soon she will taking those talents on the road. She said what is next for her -- a speaking tour, which will include secular and non-secular speaking. "As the news gets out that I am alive, I am well, I'm in one piece, healthy as a whole. I don't take that lightly. I'm very grateful, but it really has opened the door for me to share my story," she says as people have started to wonder where she is after the movie.
Johns says she always let's people know if you have a gift, don't be afraid to pursue it, because you ever know what doors will open up for you. This worked for her and, thankfully, has continued as she ventures into new areas in her life.
"Well, I think that we're given gifts. There's a scripture that says, your gifts will make room for themselves and bring you before great men," Johns said. "And so I am really living a new chapter of my gifts at this many years, but at 60, making room, opening doors that really weren't open before, and it wasn't like it existed. It just seems like this is now the time and the season."
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