Body of Work: Thomas Allen Harris

Since the mid 1980’s multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker, Thomas Allen Harris, has examined  the multiple definitions of Black and queer identity and its subjectivity, within the construction of the diaspora and the family model, through a wide range of media including video, photography, installations, film, and performance.

For over three decades Harris has been developing a co-creative and socially engaged practice that re-interprets identity, autobiography, and representation in the digital archive. Through the interweaving of personal biographical material, Harris illuminates the notion of family through the Black queer gaze and pushes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking by creating internal and external dialogues that champion self actualization and transcend artificial boundaries. 

Thursday, February 20, 2025 & Friday, February 21, 2025, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

In this two night celebration of Thomas Allen Harris’ body of work, a series of videotapes derived from the artist’s archive from the 1990s, his first feature documentary film Vintage: Families of Value, as well as the PBS broadcast documentary series Family Pictures USA.

Thursday, February 20th at 7:00pm 

Vintage: Families of Value
(1995, 71 min)
Director Thomas Allen Harris Vintage: Families of Value  is a thoughtful examination of three Black families through the eyes of gay and lesbian siblings including Harris and his brother Lyle Ashton Harris. This lyrical and impressionistic film blends dramatic re-creations, verité footage, performance, audio visual collage and archival photos and films to sketch a provocative tableau of three modern Black families negotiating sexuality and identity.

Expected Guest(s):

Thomas Allen Harris is a critically acclaimed, interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and scholar whose work explores family, identity, and spirituality. Drawing from the rich canon of African American and African Diaspora literature and arts, he utilizes a wide range of media including video, performances, and written texts to draw audiences into internal and external dialogues that transcend the artificial barriers – personal and social – which separate people from each other and themselves.

Darah Gaines Martin (she/they) is an NYC-based filmmaker and producer. She has worked on creative projects was a director, producer, creative director, videographer, and editor. She is a practitioner of joy and exploration, on a mission to activate deep levels of self-love and acceptance. She graduated from Delaware State University with a B.A. in Public Relations and Advertising. Currently, Darah works as an associate producer at Little Light Productions and as an associate producer on Thomas Allen Harris’ upcoming feature documentary film My Mom, The Scientist.

Cassidy Arrington is a 23 year old nonbinary multi-media artist based in and from Philadelphia with a BA in Ethnicity, Race, & Migration Studies from Yale College. Arrington’s artwork is primarily lens-based and centers intimacy, wilderness, and transience in queer and Black coming of age.

Watch the opening credits here.