NYU Institute of African American Affairs & Center for Black Visual Culture

05/27/2026

05/27/2026

05/15/2026

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Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985, opened with a wonderful party last night at the Getty Museum in LA. I’m here at the preview with co-curator and Dr. Kellie Jones. The show here has an added component about photography in LA — thanks to and for their amazing work to realize this project for California and the West.

05/05/2026

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MOVING MASCULINITY NEW YORK: a special review

‘Screening the film is a must-see. The story-telling, the narrator, the film-making all embraced captivating moments. Brava Esther! What a beautiful experience for me to witness and to feel the love and the warmth that you presented in this project. I listened and I heard and felt the engagement of all of them [the men]. We need this.’
Dr. Deb Willis - award-winning, critically acclaimed Artist, Photographer, Curator, Historian; Founding Director - NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture; Winner of the 2026 AIPAD Award.

NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture was a co-sponsor for MOVING MASCULINITY NEW YORK screening, and I’m honored to have been a 2022 CBVC Distinguished Activist in Residence.
Thank you! Thank you to the team:

04/23/2026

Black Rest Episode #4: Art, Sound, and Finding Rest with James Allister Sprang.

On this episode of The Black Rest Podcast, host Dejha Carrington sits down with award-winning artist James Allister Sprang for a rich, sensory conversation about growing up Caribbean American in South Miami, discovering art as a place of calm, and learning to find rest through sound, breath, and presence. The heart of the episode explores Rest Within the Wake, Sprang’s immersive 48-minute musical work composed during a solo trip to an island off the coast of Belize. He talks about learning to scuba dive, discovering that underwater rest requires constant exhalation, and turning those breaths into tones, chords, and eventually an expansive somatic score meant to be experienced lying down, eyes closed, fully tuned inward.

Episode participants:
James Allister Sprang
Hosted by Dehja Carrington

Listen to the podcast episode on www.cbvc.nyu.edu
Spotify, and Apple Podcasts

Link in bio!

04/23/2026

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Congratulations to on receiving the 2026 Award. Thank you for all that you continue to give to the photography community and the culture. You deserve your flowers. 💐✨👑🎞
deborahwillis blackacelebrationofaculture evisioningemancipation posingbeauty theblackfemalebody theblackcivilwarsoldier reflectionsinblack aipadaward2026 portraitphotographer photojournalism archivist anthonyartis artphotofilms

04/22/2026

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is thrilled to announce Deborah Willis as the 2026 AIPAD Award Winner!

Willis, who chairs the photography department at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and Founding Director for the Center for Black Visual Culture, has spent decades reshaping how we understand photography’s role in documenting and challenging social narratives.

Her groundbreaking scholarship on the representation of Black bodies, women and marginalized communities in visual culture has fundamentally altered photography discourse. As AIPAD’s Executive Director Lydia Melamed Johnson eloquently stated, “Willis’s influence extends far beyond her own artistic practice - her mentorship and advocacy have shaped generations of photographers and scholars.”

Congratulations, Deb!

02/24/2026

On January 30th, the Center for Black Visual Culture hosted Larry W. Cook and Nicole R. Fleetwood for a dynamic conversation on photography beyond surveillance, rooted in self-representation, collaboration, and bold new visions of belonging.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, leaned in, and shared the space with us.

Wherever There Is Light is on view at the Cooper Square Gallery through February 27 ✨

02/24/2026

On January 30th, the Center for Black Visual Culture welcomed artist Larry W. Cook and scholar-curator Nicole R. Fleetwood for a powerful public conversation on contemporary photographic practices among system-impacted artists.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to reflect on image-making beyond surveillance , self-representation, collaboration, and the creation of new visual languages of kinship and futurity.

Wherever There Is Light remains on view at the Cooper Square Gallery through February 27✨