Dejha Carrington Artist-Scholar in Residence Welcome Reception Join the Center for Black Visual Culture as we welcome Dejha Carrington, CBVC’s 2026–27 Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence, for a celebratory reception marking the start of her fellowship. Carrington is an arts leader and co-founder of Commissioner, a collaborative model and social practice that brings locals together to support contemporary artists and collect art in their cities. Come welcome Dejha to CBVC as she begins a residency dedicated to storytelling, process, and meaning-making in the arts. Dejha Carrington is an arts leader and cultural practitioner. In 2017, she cofounded Commissioner, an innovative membership model and social practice that brings locals together to support contemporary artists and collect art in their cities. As Executive Director, she has cultivated an inclusive community that has collectively funded over 50 curated artist commissions in Miami, Detroit, Montreal, and Mexico City, with plans for national expansion through 2030. Through programs that offer transformative access,...

Caught in the Act: Desire, Womanhood, and the “Good Woman” in Nollywood Programmed by Gallatin MA Candidate Eliel Peterson, join NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture for a screening of the 2008 Nollywood film Caught in the Act, directed by Charles Inojie and co-presented by Nolly Babes. The film follows separated twin sisters, played by Genevieve Nnaji, whose lives collide as one sister deals with an abusive mother-in-law, and the other, a life of crime. The screening will be followed by a conversation featuring Venessa Appiah, Jediael Peterson, and Baaba Annan, current doctoral scholars whose work engages questions of gender, identity, and visual culture. Together, the panelists will consider how Nollywood has represented women’s desire and agency, the cultural expectations attached to the figure of the “good woman,” and the ways African filmmakers use popular cinema to negotiate, and challenge, ideas of respectability, womanhood, and gendered life across African contexts. The evening will...

Holding Lightning The Life, Loves, and Art of Whitney Houston The Center for Black Visual Culture welcomes author and cultural critic Emily Lordi for a talk and signing of her new biography, Holding Lightning: The Life, Loves, and Art of Whitney Houston, in conversation with ethnomusicologist Dr. Fredara Hadley. Drawing on unprecedented access to Houston’s inner circle, Lordi reframes the icon known as “The Voice” as a serious artist and woman of conviction who insisted on being the architect of her own career. Join us for an evening that places Whitney Houston’s life and legacy within the larger history of Black celebrity. Holding Lightning: The Life, Loves, and Art of Whitney Houston is the first major biography of an artist whose soaring voice defined a generation and helped open the door for Black women in pop music. Lordi moves beyond the familiar narrative of Houston as a tragic figure shaped by others, instead revealing...

Where is the Care? In an art world characterized by transactional relationships, it can sometimes feel as though the demand for care arises from a moment of crisis rather than from a commitment to systemic change. In the conversation “Where is the Care?”, Dejha Carrington and Damien Davis will explore the processes through which care is rendered, interrogating the barriers and pathways that lead to a more interconnected and compassionate art environment. Carrington is the 2026–27 CBVC Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence and Co-Founder of Commissioner—a dynamic art program that runs on cooperative economics to fund artist commissions and collect art. Davis is a writer, educator, and artist whose current exhibition, “Hedges and Edges,” engages with identity, ritual, business, and community. Join us as we explore the structural frameworks fostering genuine support during these complicated times. Dejha Carrington is an arts leader. In 2017, she co-founded Commissioner, a collaborative model and social practice that brings...

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 Black beauty and media culture for over...