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OUR STORY

OUR STORY BEGAN when our founders, Thomas Allen Harris and Don Perry, were creating Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People (2014). They discovered that there were few images where Black people were the agents of their own representation in institutions such as museums, libraries, historical societies, etc. However, they quickly realized these types of images do exist, though in a special form: the family picture.

Thomas Allen Harris and his crew filming a woman holding archival photographs

The significance of the family photograph and album was familiar territory to Thomas Allen Harris. A critically acclaimed interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and scholar, he had been creating films that mined his own family archive to explore social movements. For Thomas, the family album is a medium through which he could express his queer and African diasporic ethic—it is a way of imagining otherwise, mapping cartographies of struggle, and connecting the personal to the political.

With Thomas’ experience with activating the family photograph and Don’s expertise in business and organization-building skills, they embarked on a journey to uncover and publically share stories around the family photograph. While building and refining their roadshow, the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow, they developed a Community Photo-Sharing model that uses photography, film, live events, social media, and storytelling through oral histories to expand on family histories. They also started to redefine and broaden the concepts of family (and the family album) to include people (and images of people) bonded through various nurturing connections.

Thomas Allen Harris on stage talking with 3 women and an archival photograph on display

Since then, Thomas and Don have expanded their work to include various diverse communities around the world. They have made over 65 community partnerships, interviewed over 5,500 people and gathered in excess of 80,000 images. Their work was so successful that it turned into a national PBS TV series, Family Pictures USA, that aimed to elevate underrepresented community stories through the lens of the family album.

A family smiling and posing, holding an empty ornate frame in front of them
A mother and daughter holding up an archival print of a man in a sombrero holding a guitar
A camera crew recording Thomas Allen Harris interviewing a family in front of a table of family photographs
A woman holding an archival family photograph
A mother, father, and their 2 children holding their family photograph with a camera crew recording
A man and woman posing in front of a camera, holding a family photograph

Founded in 2021, Family Pictures Institute for Inclusive Storytelling (FPIIS) is the culmination of these 30 years of experience. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit that sits on the intersection of community archiving and arts and media, FPIIS creates and supports participatory storytelling, artistic projects, and community engagements that activate the family archive. 

We make films, videos, and TV shows, host exhibitions, host symposiums, launch community photo-sharing events, and give grants to local artists. By doing this work, we create fulfilling interpersonal connections, laying the foundation for an inclusive and empathetic society.

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