Been Seen

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is exploring the work of Austin Hansen and the Black gaze in photography in "Been Seen," its spring exhibition. For 47 years, Harlem-based photojournalist, studio photographer, and documentarian, Austin Hansen ran a photo studio on West 135th Street that doubled as a gallery and exhibition space. Over his career, he photographed inside nightclubs, freelanced for the Amsterdam News, trained as a combat/war photographer in the Navy, and continued to document community life in Harlem. Now, some of his 500,000 portraits of African American families, clergy, political leaders, entertainers, writers, and community members are on view as well as correspondence, original photographs, news clippings, programs for special events held at many historic Harlem churches, and other social events in Harlem and elsewhere. The exhibit also features the work of seven contemporary photographers: Dario Calmese, Cheriss May, Flo Ngala, Ricky Day, Gerald Peart, Mark Clennon, and Lola Flash, whose practices explore identity, Black experiences, visual culture, and portraiture.