Renowned photographer and creative pioneer Deborah Willis, Ph.D., received the 2022 Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art. Awarded biennially by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Don Tyson Prize recognizes outstanding achievement in American art. Dr. Willis, University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, is the fourth recipient of the prize.
As an artist, author and curator, Willis’ art and research has focused on cultural histories envisioning the Black body, women and gender. She is a celebrated photographer, acclaimed historian of photography, MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of the 2014 NAACP Image Award.
Her latest exhibition, The Black Civil War Soldier, on view at New York University Kimmel Windows Gallery through March 1, 2023, is based on a book of the same name. Portraits of Black soldiers, whether taken in a photographic studio, on a battleground, or on a campground, are connected to the concept of democracy and citizenship expressed by abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass. Through the work, Prof. Willis seeks to engage that sense of activism and highlight the various acts of courage by Black men and women, both bonded and free, during the Civil War, as well as the rewards they received. She also co-curated the current exhibition ‘Free as they want to be:’ Artists Committed to Memory in Cincinnati, Ohio, running Sept. 30, 2022 – March 6, 2023, as part of the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up