This conference will explore the making of visual archives, the narratives they tell, and the parameters that define them as objects of study. As visual collections, photographic archives present specific concerns — especially as digital technologies change the way knowledge is classified, stored, retrieved and disseminated. Various questions about the construction, acquisition and maintenance of archives of the African Diaspora will be discussed. The conference will also draw attention to historical landmarks and moments that act as anniversaries of the arrival of Africans in the New World. Read More!

This conference is hosted by the Institute of African American Affairs (IAAA) and Center for Black Visual Culture (CBVC) at NYU in partnership with NYU Tisch School of the Arts, NYU Institute of Emerging Media – Photography and Imaging, Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research and NYU Africa House.

Questions? Please email the Conference Organizers at blackportraitures@nyu.edu.