The two centuries-long history of photography is peppered with ways in which the medium has been used to document the lives of the subjects captured within its ever evolving modes of technology. Artist and filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris dives into the long unexposed history of photography in the African American community in his new documentary THROUGH A LENS DARKLY: BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE EMERGENCE OF A PEOPLE (2013). Based and inspired by artist and historian Deb Willis’ 2002 book Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present, Harris frames his research around the family photo album and how black photographers- and their subjects- have used representation as a tool of social empowerment amidst the torrid history of racism and racial prejudice that permeates American culture.

Join director Thomas Allen Harris for a special discussion following this afternoon’s screening!

Screens in Remis Auditorium @ 1:30pm // All Ages

1:30-3:00pm
92 minutes
$9 MFA members, seniors, and students
$11 Nonmembers