$20 Suggested Donation

In this live storytelling session, Thomas Allen Harris shares his recently unearthed 1980s film and photography archive. Skillfully traversing through the intersections of film, photography, and storytelling, Thomas recounts his personal and artistic journey amidst New York City’s queer creative renaissance. Central to his narrative is the guidance of Ellis Haizlip—a close friend and mentor to Harris; the creator, producer, and host of SOUL!; and the subject of Melissa Haizlip’s 2018 NAACP Award-winning documentary, Mr. Soul—for the city’s Black and queer avant-garde communities. Each photograph and film clip serves as a thread that weaves together the enduring impact of our queer ancestors, the role of art in our constructions of identity, and the development of Harris’ artistic methodology, which buttresses his project Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) and his PBS show Family Pictures USA. As he shares his archival gems, Harris tracks the relationship between the personal, political, and artistic and explores the circularity of the past and present. 

This session is an introduction to Thomas’ subsequent workshop Queer Mentors: Storytelling Practice with Thomas Harris, Sunday, May 19 at 4pm at the Hawthorne Barn.