Body of Work: Thomas Allen Harris (Night 2)

For over 30 years Thomas Allen Harris has been creating deeply personal films that re-interpret the idea of documentary, autobiography, and personal archive.

This Body of Work will showcase two documentaries – Vintage: Families of Value and Family Pictures USA – featuring rarely-seen footage. As a Black queer artist, Thomas Allen Harris’ digital archive from the 1980s and 90’s captures themes of identity, community, and self-actualization. Through the personal documentation of himself, his family, and his community, Thomas examines the full range of the human condition while preserving the present moment.

February 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Family Pictures USA

by Thomas Allen Harris

(USA, 2019, 3 episodes)

Out of this methodology, in 2019, Harris created the PBS series Family Pictures USA, a new format of television that takes a radical look at neighborhoods and cities of the United States through the lens of family photographs, collaborative performances, and personal testimony sourced from their communities. In 2021, Harris launched the Family Pictures Institute for Inclusive Storytelling to expand upon this work through robust research, evaluation, scholarly discussion, and artistic interpretation.

Director Thomas Allen Harris and filmmaker/producer Darah Gaines are expected to join us.

Thomas Allen Harris is a critically acclaimed, interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and scholar whose work explores family, identity, and spirituality. Drawing from the rich canon of African American and African Diaspora literature and arts, he utilizes a wide range of media including video, performances, and written texts to draw audiences into internal and external dialogues that transcend the artificial barriers – personal and social – which separate people from each other and themselves.

Darah Gaines Martin (she/they) is an NYC-based filmmaker and producer. She has worked on creative projects was a director, producer, creative director, videographer, and editor. She is a practitioner of joy and exploration, on a mission to activate deep levels of self-love and acceptance. She graduated from Delaware State University with a B.A. in Public Relations and Advertising. Currently, Darah works as an associate producer at Little Light Productions and as an associate producer on Thomas Allen Harris’ upcoming feature documentary film My Mom, The Scientist.

Cassidy Arrington is a 23 year old nonbinary multi-media artist based in and from Philadelphia with a BA in Ethnicity, Race, & Migration Studies from Yale College. Arrington’s artwork is primarily lens-based and centers intimacy, wilderness, and transience in queer and Black coming of age.

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