Jules Allen, Professor Emeritus, City University of New York, Department of Art and Design at Queensborough College, is an award-winning photographer who creates reality-based images as well as metaphorical documents of which the primary foundation is grounded in behavior, enlightenment and irony.
Allen’s work expresses the essential truth, that a culture’s power is clearest when presented on its own terms. He shares the belief of photographer Diane Arbus, who states; “the more specific a thing is, the more general.” The artist, Danny Dawson, says wryly that Mr. Allen has a “keen eye for the obvious;” his lifelong work is evocative of the contemporary black experience. The images place subjects, drawn from the richness of black life, within universal paradigms. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants.
His aesthetic vision is rooted in music, gesture and ritual which renders American culture both locally and abroad. His photographs are in museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian, The National Gallery. He has been widely exhibited in the U.S. and abroad and his extensive commercial and corporate work has been seen on the covers of numerous periodicals, magazines, journals albums and compact discs.
- Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- McArthur Binion, Chicago, IL
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
- New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
- Agnes B, Paris, France
- Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
- National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
- Schomburg Center, New York, NY
- Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
- Queensborough Community College/CUNY, New York, NY
- Overholland Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Gray Gallery, Chicago, IL “McArthur Binion & Jules Allen: Me and You,” Apr 12 – May 31, 2024
- Luxe, Calme, Volupté, an exhibition curated by Antonio Sergio Bessa and Allen Frame, Candice Madey Gallery, July 2023
- Obsidian Project, Virtual Conversation, “Backstory: What is Great Photography? Part 1” March 12, 2021
- Back to the Lab NYC, Virtual Conversation, Jules Allen & Joe Lewis “Good Looking Out” September 23, 2020
- Montalvo Arts Center, Virtual Conversation, “How Much Of Sight is Invention” July 30, 2020
- Kenkeleba House, Wilmer Jennings Gallery, “Visions 1020” March 8, 2020 – May 2, 2020
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, “Patience and Perseverance: The Black Photographers Annual, Vol 4” Nov 10, 2018–May 11, 2019
- National Arts Club, “The Work of Kamoinge Black Women: Power and Grace” May 28, 2018 – June 30 2018
- Annenberg Space for Photography, “Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History” Oct 13, 2018 – Jan 25 2019
- Allentown Art Museum,”Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History” May 4 – Jul 29, 2018
- Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland, “Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History” May 25 – Nov 19, 2017
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Marching Bands Lecture & Exhibition” Mar 2017
- Tampa Museum of Art,”Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present” Feb 5 – Apr 30, 2017
- Brooklyn Museum, “Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present” Jul 15, 2016 – Jan 8, 2017
- Leica Gallery, “Double Up” Solo Exhibition, New York, NY, Nov 16, 2012 – Jan 5, 2013
- International Center of Photography, New York Street Stories, Lecture/Seminar, New York, NY, May 11, 2012
- Southeast Queens Camera Club, Jamaica, NY, Lecture Apr 17, 2012
- SOHO Photo Gallery, PhotoGroup Salon, Group Lecture, New York, NY, Jan 18, 2012
- Propositions on the Permanent Collection, Group Exhibition, Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, NY, 2009
- Marching Bands Exhibit, Solo Exhibition, The Jazz Gallery, New York, NY, 2006
- Photographs: Jules Allen, Solo Exhibition, Institute of African Affairs, NY University, New York, NY, 2006
- Imagenes Havana, Group Exhibition of Latin, Caribbean and U.S. photographers, Santiago/Havana, Cuba,
co-sponsored by Fototeca and The Washington Post, 2004 - Americanos, Group Exhibition, Smithsonian Institute; shown in 26 cities across the US, 2002
- Life of the City, Group Exhibition, Permanent Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2002
- Committed to the Image, Group Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2001
- Harlem, Group Exhibition, Leica Gallery, New York, NY, 2000
- Black New Yorkers/ Black New York, Group Exhibition, Schomburg Center, New York, NY, 1999
- Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, Group Exhibition, Museum of the City of New York, NY, 1999
- Living for the City, Group Traveling Exhibition, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, 1997
- Icon to Narrative: Harlem, Group Exhibition, IRADAC Center, New York, NY, 1998
- Domestic Abuse Awareness Project, Group Exhibition & Auction, Kent Gallery, New York, NY, 1997
- Million Man March, Group Exhibition, Del Pryor Galleries, Detroit, MI, 1997
- Hats and Hat Nots, Solo Exhibition, Drew University, New Jersey, 1995
- Gesture and Pose, Group Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1994
- Our Town, Group Exhibition, Burden Gallery, New York, NY, 1993
- In the Ring, Solo Exhibition, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY, 1993
- In the Ring, Solo Exhibition, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY, 1993
- Hats and Hat Nots, Solo Exhibition, QCC Art Gallery, CUNY, Bayside, Queens, NY, 1993
- Public Photographs, Solo Exhibition, 60 Bus Shelters, Harlem, NY, Public Art Fund, New York, NY, 1992
- Songs of My People, Group Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1992
- Songs of My People, Group Exhibition, Museum of the City of New York, NY, 1992
- Fighting Spirit, Solo Exhibition, Delta Axis Arts Center, Memphis, TN, 1992
- Group Exhibition, De Meervaart Cultural Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1991
- Two Photographers, Group Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland, 1991
- On the Edge, Group Exhibition, Henry Street Settlement House, New York, NY, 1991
- Mean Streets, Group Exhibition Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1991
- Contemporary Urban Images, Group Exhibition Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, 1990
- The Knife, Group Exhibition, Agnes B. Gallery, Paris France, 1990
- Black USA, Group Exhibition, Overhollander Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1990
- Photography and the Culture Climate, Solo Exhibition, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1989
- A Little More Towards the Light, Solo Exhibition, Shadow Image Gallery, New York, NY, 1989
- New York Times Styles Magazine, “The Secret Art of David Hammons”, Nicole Acheampong, Sept 2024
- NewCity Art, review, “McArthur Binion & Jules Allen: Me and You” at Gray Chicago, C.V. Young, May 2024
- Photograph Magazine, “McArthur Binion & Jules Allen: Me and You” May 2024, Vol. 19, No. 5
- Frieze Magazine, McArthur Binion on Visualizing Music,” Photographs by Jules Allen, August 2022
- The Slowdown, In Detroit, McArthur Binion and Henry Threadgill Salute Their Decades-Long Friendship Through Song, June 2022
- Ebony Magazine, “Jules Allen: The Art of Afro-normalism,” Joicelyn Dingle, September 2021
- The Root GlowUp, “The Exhibit ‘Black Women: Power and Grace’,” Veronica Webb, May 2018
- The New York Times, “Celebrating the Grace of Black Women,” Antwaun Sargent, May 2018
- New York Review of Books,” “The Thrill of the Black Marching Band,” Salamishah Tillet, February 2017
- “Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present” Gail Buckland, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2016
- QCC Art Gallery, Marching Bands Book Release Announcement, Press Release August 2016
- Life Force Magazine, Photo Essay, Marching Bands, Mar 2016
- CUNY Radio Podcast, Precision, Pomp & Cultural Touchstone, Book Beat, QCC, Feb 29, 2016
- Queens Courier, Bayside Professor Celebrates Black Marching Bands, Alina Suriel, Feb 16, 2016
- Times Ledger, News & Books, Tom Momberg, Feb 5, 2016
- The Guardian, Soul, Swagger and Spectacle: America’s Black Marching Bands, Jan 12, 2016
- The New York Times, Lens Blog, David Gonzalez, Dec 30, 2015
- The New York Times, “Black Marching Bands, It’s About Rhythm, Precision and Flair”
- National Print, Sports Section, Dec 30, 2015
- Salute to Scholars, “Head of the Class, Photographer Jules Allen” Publication of CUNY, Winter 2015
- Black Renassiance Noire, “Photographic Series on Black Marching Bands“, Vol 14, Issue 2, Winter 2014
- Jersey City Magazine, “The Studio, Jules Allen“, Kate Rounds, Editor, Fall-Winter 2013/2014
- QCC Presidential Lecture: Jules T. Allen: Conjure, Light, Forward Momentum BaysidePatch.com, Apr 2, 2013
- The New Yorker Review; Goings On About Town, Dec 16, 2012
- Excellence in Faculty Scholarship Award, Queensborough Community College, Apr 20, 2012
- The New York Times, Metropolitan Section, David Gonzalez, Oct 16, 2011
- The New York Times, Lens Blog, David Gonzalez, Oct 14, 2011
- Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Portfolio, Clarence Reynolds, Fall/Winter 2010
- Artists & Influence, Hatch Billups Collection, Vol XXIX, 2010M
- New Times Holler, Amir Bey, May 6, 2009
- The Black Photographers Annual, Volume 1-4; Feature Stories, Volume 4, 1980, pages 88-93
