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58-449: Founded in 1974 and inspired by the civil rights movement, it has been in the forefront of documenting the artistic journeys created by photographic artists often overlooked by the mainstream art world. En Foco has created exhibitions, workshops, fellowships and a permanent collection. The organization supports its constituent artists with direct and indirect funding opportunities. Through its visual arts programs, En Foco strives to balance

116-504: A citywide public art exhibition throughout ten Philadelphia squares and parks in collaboration with the Mural Arts Program . Hank Willis Thomas installed a sculpture entitled, “All Power to all people” which consisted of an afro pick standing eight feet tall near Philadelphia city hall. In 2018, Thomas was accused of plagiarism by South African photographer Graeme Williams . A photograph that Williams took in 1990 of black children in

174-725: A group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres. Many films premiering at Sundance have gone on to be nominated and win Oscars such as Best Picture , Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role . Sundance began in Salt Lake City in August 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah. It

232-575: A jazz musician, and Deborah Willis , artist, photographer, curator and educator. Thomas attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts as a Museum Studies student. Thomas holds a B.F.A. in Photography and Africana studies from New York University (1998) and an M.A./M.F.A. in Photography and Visual Criticism from the California College of the Arts (2004). In 2017, he received honorary doctorates from

290-666: A member of the Black Panther Party . Thomas is married to Rujeko Hockley , assistant curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Born in 1976, Thomas was amazed that less than ten years before he was born people were still fighting to affirm their humanity. Inspired by the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers's slogan "I am a man", Thomas became interested in exploring how many different ways that phrase could be read. Thomas's work focuses on framing and context. He explores ideas about how history and culture are framed, who does

348-566: A photo campaign entitled Four Freedoms . In collaboration with photographers Emily Shur and Wyatt Gallery, Thomas and For Freedoms transformed Norman Rockwell 's depictions of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's 1941 address to Congress, which articulated FDR's vision of the four basic human freedoms. Thomas wrote that "The image haunted me because of the world we live in. I wanted to imagine what it would look like today." Through dozens of iterations of Rockwell's original four paintings,

406-475: A picture of our country that is broadly reflective of the diversity of voices not always seen in our cultural exports." The majority of the film screenings, including the festival's premieres, would be held within the Cineworld cinema at The O2 entertainment district. The 2013 Sundance London Festival was held April 25–28, 2013. Sundance London 2014 took place on April 25–27, 2014, at The O2 Arena ; however

464-461: A team of artists, designers, and ethnographers creating innovative art in the public realm. The New York Times writes: "The “Truth Booth,” [is] a roving, inflatable creation by a group of artists calling itself the Cause Collective. The booth, in the shape of a cartoon word bubble with “TRUTH” in bold letters on its side, serves as a video confessional. Visitors are asked to sit inside and finish

522-643: Is a 27 monitor installation commissioned by the recently renovated Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport . The installation incorporates depictions of movement, migration and marching from different eras in Alabama history, for instance, the Civil War , the Children's March, the Selma Marches , football marching bands, the railroad, and migrations to the “Magic City.” The long row of monitors (the long march) track to

580-624: Is also responsible for bringing wider attention to such films as Common Bonds , Saw , Garden State , American Psycho , Super Troopers , The Blair Witch Project , Spanking the Monkey , Reservoir Dogs , Primer , In the Bedroom , Better Luck Tomorrow , Little Miss Sunshine , Donnie Darko , El Mariachi , Moon , Clerks , Thank You for Smoking , Sex, Lies, and Videotape , The Brothers McMullen , 500 Days of Summer , Napoleon Dynamite , Whiplash (which topped

638-753: Is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute . It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival takes place every January in Park City, Utah ; Salt Lake City, Utah ; and at Sundance Resort (a ski resort near Provo, Utah ), and acts as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and

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696-542: Is an anti-partisan platform for creative civic engagement, discourse, and direct action. The name was inspired by American artist Norman Rockwell 's paintings of Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Four Freedoms (1941)—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Through exhibitions, installations, and public programs, the organization is established to deepen public discussions on civic issues and core values, and to advocate for equality, dialogue, and civic participation. In 2018, For Freedoms launched

754-565: Is based on a photograph showing the Kings hugging after Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964." However, many viewers have focused on the rear approach, which drew some unintended comparisons, namely that it looks phallic. This further sparked jokes and even accusations that it's a waste of money and offensive. A cousin of Coretta Scott King, Seneca Scott, also criticized

812-710: Is documented in Professor Emanuel Levy 's book, Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Cinema (NYU Press, 1999, 2001, 2011). UK-based publisher C21 Media first revealed in October 2010 that Robert Redford was planning to bring the Sundance Film Festival to London, and in March the following year, Redford officially announced that Sundance London would be held at The O2 , in London from April 26 to 29, 2012;

870-695: Is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; Ben Brown Fine Arts, London and Hong Kong; Goodman Gallery , South Africa; and Marauni Mercier, Belgium. Thomas lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Hank Willis Thomas' collaborative projects have been featured at the Sundance Film Festival and installed publicly at the Oakland International Airport , The Oakland Museum of California and the University of California , San Francisco. Thomas explores

928-411: The 50 State Initiative , the largest creative collaboration in U.S. history. In the fall of 2018, For Freedoms launched a major billboard campaign in every state, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The campaign included over 150 contemporary artists, including Marilyn Minter , Rashid Johnson , Guerrilla Girls , and Theaster Gates , among others. In October 2018, For Freedoms also launched

986-891: The Arts Council of Ireland , and the San Francisco Foundation. In collaboration with artists Chris Johnson , Bayeté Ross Smith and Kamal Sinclair, Question Bridge: Black Males is a platform for black men of all ages and backgrounds to ask and candidly respond to questions that are rarely discussed in public. Through video mediated question and answer exchange, diverse members of this “demographic” bridge economic, political, geographic, and generational divisions. The Question Bridge campaign seeks to represent and redefine Black male identity in America. Additional collaborators include Jesse Williams , Delroy Lindo , and Deborah Willis . From September 14 to November 10, 2017, Monument Lab began

1044-753: The Maryland Institute College of Art and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. In 2024, CCA alum Thomas received an honorary doctorate from the California College of the Arts alongside Deb Willis. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad including the International Center of Photography , New York; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao , Spain; Musée du quai Branly , Paris; Hong Kong Arts Centre , Hong Kong, and

1102-707: The Portland Art Museum in fall 2019 and will travel to additional U.S. museums in 2020. The exhibition will highlight Thomas' devotion to reframing perspectives on difficult issues central to American history and the representation of race and the politics of visual culture. In January 2023, his sculpture " The Embrace " was unveiled in the 1965 Freedom Plaza on the Common in Boston , Massachusetts . The 20 foot high bronze sculpture honors Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and depicts their arms embracing. The artwork

1160-652: The Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art , Netherlands. Thomas’ work is included in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art , New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum , New York; Whitney Museum of American Art , New York; Brooklyn Museum , New York; High Museum of Art , Atlanta, and the National Gallery of Art , Washington D.C. His collaborative projects include Question Bridge: Black Males , In Search Of The Truth (The Truth Booth) , and For Freedoms , which

1218-459: The 1973 traveling exhibition Dos Mundos (organized by the Institute of Contemporary Hispanic Art and exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico), a group of Puerto Rican photographers - Charles Biasiny-Rivera , Phil Dante, and Roger Cabán - banded together to form the core En Foco group and incorporated in 1974. In 2012 en exhibition of a selección of En Foco’s permanent collection

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1276-601: The 2000s, when major stars with multimillion-dollar films (like The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher ) dominated the festival. Kevin Smith doubted that Clerks , if made in the late 2000s, would be accepted to Sundance. Numerous small festivals sprung up around Sundance in the Park City area, including Slamdance , Nodance, Slumdance , It-dance, X-Dance, Lapdance, Tromadance , The Park City Film Music Festival , etc., though all except Slamdance are no longer held. Included in

1334-528: The 2015 Festival was cancelled in an announcement on January 16, 2015. Sundance London returned to London from June 2–5, 2016, and again June 1–4, 2017, both at Picturehouse Central in London's West End. The 2018 and 2019 events continued at the same venue. Films shown at the 2019 event included Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling ’s Late Night , the controversial dark tale The Nightingale , US comedy Corporate Animals , Lulu Wang 's The Farewell (which won

1392-706: The 82 images in the campaign attempted to reflect the immeasurable diversity of American identities today. Celebrities such as Rosario Dawson , Dolores Huerta , Gina Belafonte, Van Jones , Jesse Williams , Robert A. Nakamura and Karen L. Ishizuka, Kiran Gandhi , Michael Ealy , Saul Williams , Rodney Barnette, and others were included in the reinterpretations. The new version of the images were widely shared on social media and Instagram , including by celebrities such as Alicia Keys and Jada Pinkett-Smith . Together with American academic, cultural critic and activist Baz Dreisinger , Thomas and Dreisinger's organization, Incarceration Nations Network, have collaborated to create

1450-678: The Audience Award ) and Sophie Hyde 's film based on Emma Jane Unsworth 's novel about female friendship, Animals . The 2020 event in London was postponed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic . It was not rescheduled until July 2021. Inaugurated in 2014, Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong has taken place in 2016, 2017, 2018 and from September 19 to October 1, 2019. It is held at The Metroplex in Kowloon Bay each year. The 2020 events in London and Hong Kong were postponed due to impact of

1508-924: The Birmingham Museum of Art, and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Thomas is the winner of the first ever Aperture West Book Prize for his monograph Pitch Blackness (November, 2008). His work has been featured in other publications including Reflections in Black (Norton, 2000), and the exhibitions along with accompanying publications 25 under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers (CDS, 2003), and 30 Americans (RFC, 2008). Other major publications include Aperature ' s Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal... (2018), and Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC)'s The Philly Block Project (2017). Thomas' first comprehensive survey Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal... opened at

1566-884: The COVID-19 pandemic and as of late 2021 has not been rescheduled. From 2006 through 2008, Sundance Institute collaborated with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on a special series of film screenings, performances, panel discussions, and special events bringing the institute's activities and the festival's programming to New York City. Many notable independent filmmakers received their big break at Sundance, including Kevin Smith , Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , Todd Field , David O. Russell , Steve James , Paul Thomas Anderson , Steven Soderbergh , Darren Aronofsky , James Wan , Edward Burns , Damien Chazelle , Lee Isaac Chung , Jane Schoenbrun , Molly Gordon , Nick Lieberman , A. V. Rockwell and Jim Jarmusch . The festival

1624-633: The Dying Girl in 2015, The Birth of a Nation in 2016, Minari in 2020, and CODA in 2021. At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival , three films went on to garner eight Oscar nominations. Manchester by the Sea took the lead in Sundance-supported films with six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The next year, about 40 films were acquired by distributors, among them including Amazon , Netflix , Lionsgate , and Universal . CODA became

1682-516: The Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's character the Sundance Kid from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid . The Sundance Film Festival experienced its extraordinary growth in the 1990s, under the leadership of Geoffrey Gilmore and John Cooper, who transformed the venue into the premier festival in the United States, on par of Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto International Film Festival (also known as The Big Five). That crucial era

1740-537: The Sundance changes made in 2010, a new programming category titled "NEXT" (often denoted simply by the characters "<=>", which mean "less is more") was introduced to showcase innovative films that are able to transcend the confines of an independent budget. Another recent addition was the Sundance Film Festival USA program, in which eight of the festival's films are shown in eight different theaters around

1798-458: The United States. The festival went virtual in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The festival returned for in-person showings in 2023. The total economic benefits Sundance brought to Utah were estimated to be $ 167 million in 2020. The Sundance Institute's contract to host the festival in Park City will expire following the 2026 festival. The Sundance Institute is considering moving

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1856-412: The background", without seeking permission from Magubane. Thomas defended his actions, saying that asking permission to use the photograph was a form of censorship. Magubane responded that Thomas' actions were arrogant, shameful and disrespectful. The Embrace , a sculpture meant to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King, sparked mixed reactions. The large scale, bronze "sculpture

1914-472: The black male body by printing photographs of humiliations or executions of black men on retro-reflective vinyl (commonly used for street signs), rendering them invisible except under flash photography. Thomas has a permanent installation at The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. The piece, titled Rise Up , depicts a cement wall with statues of black heads and bodies emerging from

1972-457: The center of the wall and meld into a kaleidoscope. The kaleidoscope is tiled in the shape of a Camellia —the Alabama state flower. The Camellia, in this instance, is a repository of past and present motion that represents the flowering that grows out of movement. The kaleidoscopic mixes and melds the long march footage creating new emergent patterns, forms and colors. The travelers who will encounter

2030-445: The experience of small filmmakers trying to get into various festivals in the late 2000s, including Sundance. The film contained several arguments that Sundance had become dominated by large studios and sponsoring corporations. A contrast was made between the 1990s, in which non-famous filmmakers with tiny budget films could get distribution deals from studios like Miramax Films or New Line Cinema , (like Kevin Smith 's Clerks ), and

2088-402: The festival continued. More than 60 films were screened at the festival that year, and panels featured many well-known Hollywood filmmakers. Also that year, the first Frank Capra Award went to Jimmy Stewart . The festival also made a profit for the first time. In 1981, the festival moved to Park City, Utah, and changed the dates from September to January. The move from late summer to midwinter

2146-772: The festival's Top 10 Films of All Time in 2024, as the result of a survey conducted with over 500 filmmakers and critics in honor of the festival's 40th anniversary ), CODA , Boyhood , We're All Going to the World's Fair , Theater Camp and A Thousand and One . Three Seasons was the first in festival history to ever receive both the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award, in 1999. Later films that won both awards are: God Grew Tired of Us in 2006 (documentary category), Quinceañera in 2006 (dramatic category), Precious in 2009, Fruitvale (later retitled Fruitvale Station ) in 2013, Whiplash in 2014, Me and Earl and

2204-604: The first Sundance film to win an Oscar for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards . The festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies not affiliated with Sundance. Festival organizers have tried curbing these activities in recent years, beginning in 2007 with their ongoing Focus On Film campaign. The 2009 film Official Rejection documented

2262-534: The first time it has traveled outside the US . In a press statement, Redford said, "We are excited to partner with AEG Europe to bring a particular slice of American culture to life in the inspired setting of The O2, and in this city of such rich cultural history. [...] It is our mutual goal to bring to the UK, the very best in current American independent cinema, to introduce the artists responsible for it, and in essence, help build

2320-410: The first-year pilot program of what became the Sundance Institute , and James W. Ure took over briefly as executive director, followed by Cirina Hampton Catania, who was asked by Governor Matheson to help bring the festival into profitability as the governing board was preparing to disband it due to debts incurred in 1978. Catania generated sponsorships, in-kind contributions, and advertising revenue, and

2378-683: The foreground and white policemen in the background was modified by Thomas, removing colour from the background. The photograph was exhibited at the Johannesburg Art Fair, with an asking price of US$ 36000, without attribution or mention of Williams. Thomas defended himself saying that what he had done was "akin to sampling, remixing". In a separate case, South African photographer, Peter Magubane , who has photo-documented life in South Africa for six decades, discovered that Thomas had also altered one of his photos, similarly putting "a white fade over

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2436-547: The framing, and how this affects our interpretation of reality. In his work he focuses on speaking about popular culture and does so by using a variety of different mediums. He specifically likes to use photography because of the way you can edit a photograph, which can be a way of retelling history. Thomas has also stated that the artist Kerry James Marshall was a big influence on him and his work. Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival , then US Film and Video Festival )

2494-467: The inaugural US Film Festival presented by Sundance Institute (1985), which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. The branding and marketing transition from the US Film Festival to the Sundance Film Festival was managed under the direction of Colleen Allen, Allen Advertising Inc., by appointment of Robert Redford. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed

2552-402: The inequities of the art world by creating the 'missing pages' in art history. In 1984 it created the bilingual (English/Spanish) photographic magazine Nueva Luz , which concentrates on works by U.S.-based photographers of color. Some photographers En Foco has exhibited or written about are Hank Willis Thomas , Sama Raena Alshaibi , Juan Sánchez, Hong-An Truong and Víctor Vázquez. Inspired by

2610-471: The piece will be able to envision themselves as part of this mosaic that is symbolized through Alabama's relationship to ‘the march’ as a form of historical progression. Thomas is working on the long-term and global public art project In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth) . Also known as "The Truth Booth" it is in collaboration with Ryan Alexiev, Jim Ricks , and Will Sylvester, all members of Cause Collective,

2668-693: The politically and metaphysically loaded sentence that begins, “The truth is ...”". To date, the project has travelled Ireland, Afghanistan, South Africa, Australia, the United States, and Mexico. It embarked on a world tour at the Galway Arts Festival , Ireland in 2011. It debuted in the US during the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia in June 2012. Throughout this long-term project

2726-594: The potential of independent film, and increase visibility for filmmaking in Utah. The main focus of the event was to conduct a competition for independent American films, present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions, and celebrate the Frank Capra Award. The festival also highlighted the work of regional filmmakers who worked outside the Hollywood system. In 1979, Sterling Van Wagenen left to head up

2784-567: The representation of the African-American male body in visual culture in his B(r)anded Series. Writing in The Guardian , critic Arwa Mahdawi observed: "Thomas's work 'unbrands' advertising: stripping away the commercial context, and leaving the exposed image to speak for itself." His two screenprints of 2013, And I Can't Run and Blow the Man Down, express the erasure of past injustices to

2842-445: The sculpture for not including her face. However, it was funded by private donations and meant to inspire change, and Scott admitted his initial anger stemmed from grief and a misunderstanding. 2023 2022 2018 2017 2007 Listed in reverse chronological order. Thomas's mother, Deborah Willis , is an art photographer and an NYU professor. His father, also Hank Thomas, is a jazz musician , film producer, physicist, and

2900-668: The top of the wall whose arms are raised in surrender. The piece comments on the incidents of police violence and police brutality that are prevalent in current American society. In 2017, Thomas also unveiled his permanent public artwork Love Over Rules in San Francisco and All Power to All People in Opa Locka, Florida. Thomas has acted as a visiting professor at CCA and in the MFA programs at Maryland Institute College of Art and ICP/Bard and has lectured at Yale University, Princeton University,

2958-695: The traveling exhibition and installation, The Writing On The Wall (TWOTW), constructed from over 2,000 pages of writing and art by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people across the world. TWOTW was first displayed on New York City's High Line in November, 2019, and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the collaborators have adapted the content to be projected onto city buildings and landscapes, including jails and courthouses – first in New York, then in Washington, D.C., and Ohio. The installation's first international showing

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3016-420: The video footage is compiled and edited into a video artwork. To expand and engage with audiences, the movements of "The Truth Booth" and sample responses are tracked, edited, and categorized on a website. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to try to capture as many definitions, confessions and thoughts on The Truth as possible, creating a diverse ‘portrait’ of people across the globe. It was first supported by

3074-701: Was awarded the 2017 ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform. In 2012, Question Bridge: Black Males debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was selected for the New Media Grant from the Tribeca Film Institute . Thomas is also the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), AGO Photography Prize (2017), Soros Equality Fellowship (2017), and is a member of the New York City Public Design Commission . Thomas

3132-457: Was done by the executive director Susan Barrell with the cooperation of Hollywood director Sydney Pollack , who suggested that running a film festival in a ski resort during winter would draw more attention from Hollywood. It was called the US Film and Video Festival. In 1984, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival. Gary Beer and Van Wagenen spearheaded production of

3190-409: Was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen , head of Robert Redford 's company Wildwood Enterprises, Inc , John Earle and Cirina Hampton-Catania of the Utah Film Commission . The 1978 festival featured films such as Deliverance , A Streetcar Named Desire , Midnight Cowboy , Mean Streets , and Sweet Smell of Success . The goal of the festival was to showcase American-made films, highlight

3248-423: Was in Mexico City in late June. The Cause Collective is a team of artists, designers and ethnographers creating innovative art in the public realm. Their projects explore and enliven public spaces by creating a dynamic conversation between issues, sites and the public audience. By exploring ideas that affect and shape society, the collective seeks to add the "public" back into public space and art. The Long March

3306-450: Was inspired by a black and white photo of the couple sharing an embrace after Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize . On September 13, 2023, Thomas was one of the five recipients of the 2023 Medal of Arts, a prestigious accolade created by the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies program and awarded to him by Jill Biden. Founded in 2016 along with artist Eric Gottesman , Michelle Woo, and Wyatt Gallery , For Freedoms

3364-408: Was presented at the Art Museum of the Americas and included works by Chuy Benitez and Lola Flash among others. Hank Willis Thomas Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976) is an American conceptual artist . Based in Brooklyn, New York , he works primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Hank Willis Thomas was born in 1976 in Plainfield, New Jersey to Hank Thomas,

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