The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau
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Hank Willis Thomas
Art can break barriers and transform our perspectives on identity, race, and justice.
World-Renowned Artist | Winner of the US Department of State Medal of Arts | Guggenheim Fellow
A trailblazing artist whose work delves deep into the complexities of identity and race in America, Hank Willis Thomas offers a profound commentary on how these themes intersect with contemporary culture. Thomas is a world-renowned conceptual artist whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States and all across the world. Through a compelling fusion of photography, sculpture, and mixed media, he examines the often-overlooked narratives of marginalized communities, challenging viewers to confront and reassess the pervasive stereotypes and historical injustices that shape societal perceptions. His innovative use of visual language not only amplifies voices that have been historically silenced but also invites a critical dialogue on the evolving notions of identity and race. Thomas’s art stands as a powerful testament to the transformative potential of creative expression.
In 2023, world-renowned artist Hank Willis Thomas unveiled a larger-than-life sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King’s embrace in Boston. The Embrace represents love, equity and justice for Boston residents and everyone else who visits the city.
Hank is a world-renowned conceptual artist whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States and all across the world, including the International Center of Photography, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Musée du quai Branly, and the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art. His work relates to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture.
In 2019, he presented Unity on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. In 2018, Raise Up was installed at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL. In 2017, Love Over Rules permanent neon was unveiled in San Francisco, CA and All Power to All People in Opa Locka, FL.
Hank also has contributed to several award winning collaborative projects, including Question Bridge: Black Males, In Search Of The Truth (The Truth Booth), The Writing on the Wall, and For Freedoms. In 2017, For Freedoms was awarded the ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform.
Thomas is a recipient of the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts (2023), the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship (2019), The Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), AIMIA | AGO Photography Prize (2017), Soros Equality Fellowship (2017), Aperture West Book Prize (2008), Renew Media Arts Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation (2007), and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship Award (2006). He is also a member of the Public Design Commission for the City of New York.
Thomas holds a B.F.A. from New York University, New York, NY (1998) and an M.A./M.F.A. from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA (2004). He received honorary doctorates from the Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, MD and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, Portland, ME in 2017. Thomas recently participated in the 2024 Venice Biennale, with work exhibited at the Palazzo Pisani S. Marina Gallery.
Speech Topics
The ArtsRead more
An Evening with Hank Willis Thomas
Hank Willis Thomas is a world-renowned artist whose work consistently challenges traditional barriers and stereotypes. His work is tied to identity—how we perceive ourselves, how we’re perceived, how we perceive others—and he invites his audience to participate, encouraging reflection and introspection to dissolve traditional barriers between the artwork, artist, and viewer.
Employing social and political climates of the past and present into his works, Thomas often deploys sports as a metaphor in his two-dimensional and three-dimensional practice. Themes such as triumph and victory, loss and consolation, pervade much of his work. In this talk, he brings audiences together through archival and contemporary imagery, inspiring unique conversations around community, belonging, identity, and the nature of art.
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