Deborah Willis (artist)

**Deborah Willis** (bɛ daa dɔɣi o la silimiin goli February dabaa anu dali yuuni 1948) nyɛla African-American nucheeni baŋda, anfoonima yaara, taarihi baŋda, sabira n-ti pahi shikuru baŋda.  O pini puuni shɛli nyɛ yuuni 2000 MacArthur Fellow. Saha ŋɔ o nyɛla baŋda mini ʒi'ba zaŋ n-ti Department of Photography and Imaging shikuru yuli booni Tisch School of the Arts n-ti New York University. Yuuni 2024, pɛ daa piigi o American Philosophical Society.

## Piligu biɛhigu mini shikuru baŋsim
Deborah Willis nyɛla bɛ ni daa dɔɣi so Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ban daa dɔɣi ŋɔ nyɛ Ruth mini Thomas Willis silimiin goli February dabaa anu dali yuuni 1948. Willis bia nyɛ nucheeni baŋda Hank Willis Thomas. O ba daa nyɛla anfoonima yaara ka o tumanima nyɛ *Daddy's Ties: The Tie Quilt II* (1992), and *Progeny: Deborah Willis ni Hank Willis Thomas* (2009).

Wilis' shɛhira gbana nyɛ B.F.A. in photography ka di daa yina shikuru yuli booni Philadelphia College of Art yuuni 1975;  M.F.A. in photography from Pratt Institute yuuni 1979;  M.A. in art history ka di daa yina City College of New York yuuni 1986; n-ti pahi Ph.D. ka di yina shikuru yuli booni George Mason University yuuni 2001.

## Other activities
Willis nyɛla ŋun daa pahi ninvuɣ shɛba ban daa piigi ban di Rome Prize yuuni 2023–24 cycle, ban daa nyɛ lala ʒia ŋɔ ʒi'banima nyɛ Naomi Beckwith mini Fred Wilson.

## Recognition
Willis nyɛla ŋun deegi pina pam, di shɛŋa nyɛ din doli na ŋɔ:
*2023 Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art 
*2023 Honorary Doctor of Humanities from Yale
*2020 Award for Outstanding Service to Photography and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.
* 2013-2014: Richard D. Cohen Fellow in African and African American Art, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Harvard University
*2005: Guggenheim Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
* 2005: Fletcher Fellow, Fletcher Foundation
* 2003: Honorary doctorate, Maryland Institute College of Art
* 2000: MacArthur Fellow
* 1995: Infinity Award for Writing, International Center of Photography.

## Artistic and photographic works
O ni nyɛ nucheeni baŋda mini anfooninima yaara, Willis nyɛla ŋun zani n-ti Bernice Steinbaum Gallery din be Miami mini Charles Guice Contemporary din be Berkeley, California.  O "exhibitions" nyɛ din doli na ŋɔ:
* "Progeny," Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, 2008.  The exhibition traveled as "Progeny: Deborah Willis mini Hank Willis Thomas" yuuni 2009 n-ti New York mini Sacramento, California.
* "Regarding Beauty", University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2003 ka di daa chani ka ʒiri anfoonima.
* "Deborah Willis: Tied to Memory," Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, 2000.
* "Deborah Willis," Hughley Gallery & Objects, Atlanta, 1992, nyɛla din daa chani ni taarihinima amaa ka daa leei jandi anfooni taarihinima, kundinima n-ti pahi daŋ "snapshots."

* "Story Quilts: Photography and Beyond", Black Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1999, Pat Ward Williams, "exhibition" ŋɔ daa nyɛlaAfrican-American nucheeni baŋdiba ata tuma—Willis, Kyra E. Hicks n-ti pahi Dorothy Taylor.
* *Tribute to the Hottentot Venus* quilt, 1992.

## Curated exhibitions
"Exhibition" shɛŋa Willis ni niŋ nyɛ din doli na ŋɔ:

* "Posing Beauty in African American Culture," bɛ daa zaŋ li wuhi salo yuuni 2009 Tisch School of the Arts, New York University ka nyɛ bɛ ni pa niŋdi shɛli dunia zaa.
* "Reflections in Black," Arts and Industries Building, Smithsonian institution, Washington, DC, 2000, on African-American photography. Lala "exhibition" ŋɔ nyɛla din daa be U.S. yaɣa pam bin din gbaai yuuni 2000 mini yuuni 2003 sunsuun.
* "Constructed Images: New Photography," nyɛla o ni daa niŋ shɛli bin din gbaai yuuni 1989 mini yuuni 1992 sunsuun.

## Publications
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

## Kundivihira

## Further reading
* 

## External links

* 
* Berger, Maurice, ""Framing - and - Reflecting Beauty", Lens Blog, *The New York Times*, March 11, 2013, 
*
*Finley, Cheryl, "Deborah Willis’s Writings and Exhibitions Have Shaped Scholarship on African-American Photography", *ARTnews*, January 14, 2020.
*Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: "Carl Van Vechten: American Portraitist" exhibit materials, 1992 (curated by Deborah Willis)
*Deborah Willis professional files collection held by the New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts Division