A native of New Orleans, Barbara McCullough has lived most of her life in southern California.  Her initial interest was in photography, but the moving image, immediacy of video, and textures captured on film, set her on a path of exploration.  McCullough’s work progressed to examining the creative process of artists, but always maintaining a fascination with experimental film and video.  She sees herself as a part of the continuum of African American storytellers whose aim is to preserve knowledge by capturing the essence of its life, spirit, and magic. Seeing beyond a mere glance but revealing its seen and unseen essence, she states, “the work and heritage of the African American artist/cultural worker provides a link to past achievements often overlooked but necessary to provide links for future generations to keep the music and visual poetry alive.”  Her works include: “Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification”, “Shopping Bag Spirits and Freeway Fetishes: Reflection on Ritual Space”, “Fragments”, “The World Saxophone Quartet”, and “Horace Tapscott Musical Griot”.  McCullough’s film “Water Ritual #1” was awarded an Avant Garde Masters Grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation in 2010. She is associated with UCLA filmmakers known as the LA Rebellion and her work has been shown in galleries, museums, and film festivals nationally and internationally.