Hooks brothers studio: a career in photography, 1907-1984 ["hooks brothers studio: a career in photography, 1907?1984" explores the extraordinary legacy of memphis?s longest-operating black-owned…

Hooks brothers studio: a career in photography, 1907-1984 ["hooks brothers studio: a career in photography, 1907?1984" explores the extraordinary legacy of memphis?s longest-operating black-owned photography business. For more than seventy years, the hooks family documented everyday life and historic milestones, from weddings and graduations to images of leaders, musicians, and civic life, creating a visual record that affirmed dignity and pride in the face of systemic exclusion. At the same time, the studio embodied the entrepreneurial promise of the american dream: sustaining a multigenerational family business, training veterans and aspiring photographers, and proving how artistry, innovation, and free enterprise could generate opportunity and economic freedom. Drawing on a rediscovered archive of more than 75,000 photographs, this exhibition will illuminate how the hooks brothers shaped both memphis history and the broader national story of black entrepreneurship and cultural self-determination.]