Photography & Imaging Chair Dr. Deborah Willis has been invited to present a keynote speech at the Society of Photographic Education's Midwest Regional Conference on October 6th. Washington University in St. Louis is playing host this year to the festivities centered around the theme "Conflict Resolution." Wash U's student publication Student Life covered the event and made special note of the relevance of Dr. Willis' work surrounding image-making of and by African-Americans to the conference venue and theme. From the September 29, 2016 article:
"[Conference Co-Director Gina] Grafos said she was compelled to ask Willis to speak at the event after hearing her discuss her son, prominent visual artist Hank Willis Thomas, and the way she “talked about [how] photography has been the nucleus of her work and his.”
Willis’s scholarly background in documenting African-American life and culture in America through photography is well-suited to the conference, especially given the origins of the theme...
...[Michael] Brown’s shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, a scant 15 miles from St. Louis, racked the country and the city with conflict and confusion. The theme naturally expanded from Ferguson and related incidents to a more general exploration of conflict. The conference also touches on a variety of topics, including transgender and environmental concerns."