French-American Artistic Conversations The Center for Research on English-speaking Worlds (CREW) at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and the Center for Black Visual Culture (CBVC) at New York University are delighted to invite you to the event "French-American Artistic Conversations", featuring photographer Carla Williams at the Sorbonne. The conversation will bring together Carla Williams with Dejha Carrington (NYU), Amandine Nana (Palais de Tokyo), Deborah Willis (NYU), Clémentine Tholas (USN), and Laurence Cossu-Beaumont (USN). French-American Artistic Conversations is a research collaboration between two institutions deeply engaged with culture and the arts and committed to developing a shared reflection on Black and diasporic visual arts, as well as on the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. The project builds on a series of encounters with artists organized at the Sorbonne by the CREW research team since2024. The new ed...

#CDE3121 Prince Virtual Symposium Join us on November 13–15, 2026 (Friday–Sunday) for #CDE3121, a Prince VIRTUAL symposium, as we continue to commemorate ten years since Prince’s passing, while celebrating the 30th anniversaries of both Chaos and Disorder (1996) and Emancipation (1996), and the 20th anniversary of 3121 (2006). We don't talk about these three albums as much as we should. Chaos and Disorder captures the end of Prince’s major-label era, fulfilling his final obligation to Warner Bros. Emancipation is his declaration of independence, celebrating freedom with his first released triple album, created on his own terms. Ten years later, 3121 is his vindication. Prince continues to evolve as a free agent, expanding the possibilities of independence across his creative and business endeavors while proving that his independence works commercially, too. Together, these three albums trace a critical arc in Prince’s career: ...

Claude McKay, Wanderings of a Rebllious Poet Film Screening Virtual post-screening discussion and Q&A with French director Matthieu Verdeil and distinguished scholar Dr. Robert Reid-Pharr. This program is organized by the Center for Black Visual Culture and co-sponsored by NYU Institute of French Studies and NYU Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.Claude McKay, Wanderings of a Rebellious Poet (52’ - 2025 - english subtitles) film will be shared to all registrants via link to view in advance of the program. This film link will be available for 48 hours only.Claude McKay, Wanderings of a Rebellious Poet is a captivating voyage through the 1920s — from Harlem to Marseille, via Jamaica, Russia and Morocco — in the footsteps of Jamaican American writer Claude McKay. A rebellious voice of the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay spent two decades traveling the world, immersing himself in artistic and political avant-gardes whil...

Black Curators Matter A Book Talk & Signing with Kellie Jones and Deborah Willis The Center for Black Visual Culture welcomes Dr. Kellie Jones for a talk and signing of she and Tumelo Mosaka's publication, Black Curators Matter. Dr. Jones will be joined in conversation by CBVC Founding Director Dr. Deborah Willis as they reexamine the curatorial field and discuss the transformative strategies that reshaped American art museums toward greater inclusivity and experimentation. The relationship between Black Americans and U.S. art museums has historically been fraught and hard-won. In the late 1960s, the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition and other groups organized protests at major art museums, calling for the inclusion of Black artists and curators. Such advocacy led to acquisitions and exhibitions by Black artists at important institutions and spurred the establishment of museums and cultural organizations promoting Black art and cul...

Tenderheaded: A Book Talk & Signing with Michaela Angela Davis The Center for Black Visual Culture welcomes former VIBE founding fashion director Michaela Angela Davis for a talk and signing of her memoir, Tenderheaded, in conversation with CBVC Program Director Dr. Joan Morgan. Having worked alongside icons like Diana Ross, Prince, and Maya Angelou, Davis offers both a celebration of Black media's vibrant history and a critical examination of its challenges and identity politics. Join us for an evening exploring race, beauty, and self-acceptance through the lens of a career spent shaping and reflecting Black culture. Part memoir and part cultural manifesto, Tenderheaded is a tribute to Black girls and women everywhere, examining the role media and American history play in shaping collective identity, and standing as a testament to self-acceptance. Michaela Angela Davis is a writer, image activist, and cultural critic who has shaped...