Hank Willis Thomas

Hank Willis Thomas, a conceptual artist residing in Brooklyn, NY, focuses his work on themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture. His artistic contributions have been showcased in exhibitions across the United States and internationally, including notable venues such as the International Center of Photography, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Musée du quai Branly, Hong Kong Arts Centre, and the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art.

Thomas is recognized for his involvement in 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 received the ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform. Thomas has been honored with various awards and fellowships, such as 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). Additionally, he serves as a member of the Public Design Commission for the City of New York.

In 2019, Thomas unveiled his permanent work "Unity" in Brooklyn, NY. Two significant permanent installations, "Love Over Rules" in San Francisco, CA, and "All Power to All People" in Opa Locka, FL, were revealed in 2017. Thomas holds a B.F.A. from New York University (1998) and an M.A./M.F.A. from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA (2004). In 2017, he received honorary doctorates from the Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, MD, and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, Portland, ME.