Tisch School of the Arts, Department of Photography & Imaging and The Center for Black Visual Culture are pleased to announce Reflections in Black: A Reframing. Curated by Dr. Deborah Willis, this exhibition accompanies the release of the 25th anniversary edition of Willis’ internationally acclaimed publication Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present; the first comprehensive history of black photographers. Reflections in Black: A Reframing showcases the profound visual archive Black image makers have established since the late nineteenth century, and expands upon the publication’s first iteration originally published in 2000.
Reflections in Black: A Reframing opening receptions will take place at Cooper Square Gallery from 5:30pm - 7:00pm and Photography and Imaging Galleries from 6:00pm - 8:00pm on September 4, 2025.
Featuring works by:
A.P. Bedou, Adam Davis, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Alanna Airitam, Allison Janae Hamilton, Andre D. Wagner, Arturo Holmes, Ayana V. Jackson, Bill Gaskins, Brandy Dyess, C.M. Battey, Carla Williams, Carrie Mae Weems, Cecil Williams, Charles “Teenie” Harris, C. Daniel Dawson, Colette Veasey-Cullors, Cornelius Tulloch, Darryl Sivad, Denise Stephanie Hewitt, Dominic Pearson, Doug Harris, Dwight Carter, Eddie Elcha, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Ernest Russell, Faith Davis, Gerald Cyrus, Gerard H. Gaskin, Golden, Ivan Forde, Jack T. Franklin, Jamel Shabazz, James L. Allen, James Presley Ball, Janna Ireland, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Jeffrey Henson Scales, John Pinderhughes, Kambui Olujimi, Kennedi Carter, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Maaza Mengiste, Moneta J. Sleet Jr., Munachi Osegbu, Nadia Huggins, Qiana Mestrich, Rafia Santana, Richard Samuel Roberts, Ron Tarver, Satchel Lee, Scheherazade Tillet, Séan Alonzo Harris, Sheila Pree Bright, Steven M. Cummings, Terrence C. Jennings, Tyler Mitchell, Wendel A. White, William Earle Williams, Zalika Azim.
Reflections in Black: A Reframing includes modern and original prints and extends Willis’s pioneering effort to reshape the narrative of American history, by centering the indisputable aesthetic, political, and cultural contributions of Black photographers from the 19th century to the present. Featured in the exhibition is The Missing Chapter: Black Chronicles, Autograph’s pop-up photography display featuring 30 remarkable image panels, reproduced from rare 19th-century photographs portraying people of African, Caribbean and South Asian descent during the Victorian era in Britain. Focused on unearthing nineteenth-century photographs of black presences in Britain’s archives, the portraits offer a unique snapshot of black lives and experiences during the decades following the birth of photography in 1839. Many of these images lay buried deep within the archives for decades, unseen for more than 125 years. Through both historical and contemporary lenses, Reflections in Black: A Reframing foregrounds a sweeping visual archive that affirms Black self-authorship in imagemaking, spotlighting the evolution and enduring vitality of Black photographic practices.
