Artist Talk with Dr. Deborah Willis at The Betsy
Dr. Deborah Willis’ Reflections in Black: A Reframing (Liveright, 2025) is an acclaimed collection of Black photography, redefining our understanding of American history. Dr. Willis will be in conversation with Cornelius Tulloch and Joan Morgan.
In The Gallery
This fall, Liveright celebrates the 25th anniversary of Dr. Deborah Willis’ Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers: A Reframing, 1840 to the Present—a landmark publication that forever changed how America sees itself. First released in 2000, Reflections in Black was the first single-volume history to center Black photographers as architects of the national image, reframing the visual narrative of family, identity, and freedom across two centuries.
Now, Willis, MacArthur Fellow, curator, and founder of NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture, returns with Reflections in Black: A Reframing (pub: Nov 18). This breathtaking new edition juxtaposes photographs from the original volume with 130 new images by artists such as Carrie Mae Weems, Renee Cox, Allison Janae Hamilton, Andre D. Wagner, and Hank Willis Thomas. With a new foreword by Robin D. G. Kelley and a coda by Kalia Brooks, it re-examines the power of photography to reclaim history at a moment when archives, memory, and representation are under renewed pressure.
Hosted by The Betsy Hotel, Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Collective, and NYU's Center for Black Visual Culture the afternoon will feature a small reception, a panel of guest speakers, and a signing with Dr. Willis.
In a year when questions of visibility and authorship dominate our cultural landscape, Reflections in Black: A Reframing, the 25th Anniversary edition feels more essential than ever—both a historical document and a living testament to the evolving language of Black photography.
About the Artist
Dr. Deborah Willis is a prominent American artist, curator, and scholar, currently a University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University (NYU). Her work focuses on African American photography, visual culture, and the history of Black people in America, with extensive publications and exhibitions on these subjects. Willis is also the director of NYU's Center for Black Visual Culture and has received numerous honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship.
