The Photography + Integrated Media program is happy to invite Ben Willis for an artist talk today on Teams at 5:30. All are welcome! Link and information on Ben below. Please email Cassidy Brauner at BraunerC@ohio.edu for any questions. Thank you to the visiting artist committee!

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NmFlYTVlZTAtYTBmNS00NzA3LWJkY2MtYTI2MTk4YTA0OGJm%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22f3308007-477c-4a70-8889-34611817c55a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22d205a27b-393d-420b-8658-103e125a05fb%22%7d

Benjamin Willis is an artist born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. His current work consists of primarily lens-based material that interweave sociology, philosophy, and anthropology. He aims to show the deep love and interconnectedness of life in the city he is from, as a black photographer he believes it is imperative to participate in making the work about his community from his perspective. 

Willis is a graduate of Otterbein University where he received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Painting and Drawing, as well as a Bachelor’s of Arts in Philosophy. He was recently named a GCAC Art Unites CBus award recipient, and is a featured artist for the Apple Inc. Hometown Series.

The Home We Know by Ben Willis is a forthcoming monograph about the residents of Columbus, Ohio. The work was made from 2017-2021. Ben describes the work as a love letter to his community and all that makes it move and thrive.

“My work is a labor of love, and the work much like life is held together by that kind of love and admiration for one another but also one’s self. When you walk around and interact in the city you’ve got to remember what you’re looking at is also you. I do that through street portraiture. I try to express love and relationships through my work.” -Ben Willis