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Dr. Deborah Willis, chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging, was interviewed by Adriana Izel for the newspaper Correio Braziliense in conjuntion with her participation in the 16th Festival Latinidades, a Festival of Afro-Latino American and Caribbean Women in São Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Willis spoke on a round table on Black narratives, "I See Myself in Us: Images, Writings of Black People and the Power Over Our Histories." Here is an excerpt (translated from Portuguese):
Your work values the black gaze and also black photographers of the past. What is the importance of this to you?
Within my field of work, I consistently focus my photography on subjects such as beauty, race, and gender. I've noticed that assumptions are still made when looking at the black female body. I feel that we should not only create but also provoke the development of a more inclusive history of black art globally by researching and writing about this neglected work.