Feature Presentation | Camille Billops
The multi-talented Camille Billops has found many different ways to express her artistic ability throughout her career. From poetry to printmaking, sculpture to jewelry making, and book illustration to filmmaking, she has never been afraid to use a new medium to display her visions.
After studying sculpture on the west coast, Billops moved to New York and received her M.F.A. from the City College of New York in 1973. In 1975 she founded the Hatch-Billops Collection with her husband, filmmaker James Hatch. The Hatch-Billops Collection is an archive of African American cultural history that includes oral histories, slides, books, photographs, and other historical materials. A collection of film related materials (The Hatch-Billops Collection), including advertisements, articles, and press kits were donated by Billops and Hatch to the Black Film Center/Archive in 1992.
Billops began her career in filmmaking in the early 1980s with Suzanne, Suzanne (1982) and has since directed five more including Finding Christa (1991), which won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Finding Christa, like many of her other films, is a highly autobiographical documentary.
Camille Billops' filmography:
- Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)
- Older Women and Love (1987)
- Finding Christa (1991)
- The KKK Boutique Ain't Just Rednecks (1994)
- Take Your Bags (1998)
- A String of Pearls (2002)
Here are some more resources for learning more about Camille Billops:
- The Hatch-Billops Collection:
- 491 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10012
(212) 966-3231
- 491 Broadway, 7th Floor
- Websites:
- The Varo Registry: An electronic registry of artwork by women from around the world. Includes images of some of Billops' artwork as well as a short bio.
- Percent for Artwork in New York City: A program that provides artwork for civic and community buildings in New York City. Includes descriptions of three of her ceramic murals and a short bio.
- African Pubs: A brief biography and bibliography.
- Also see examples of her artwork here and here.
- Articles/Interviews:
- Billops, Camille. "Camille Billops: An Interview." Interview by Samella Lewis. The International Review of African American Art 10, no.4 (Spring 1993): 24-38
- Billops, Camille. "My Life in Art: An Autobiographical Essay." Black Art Quarterly 1 (Summer 1977): 31-51.
- Lekatsas, Barbara. "Encounters: The Film Odyssey of Camille Billops." Black American Literature Forum 25, no.2 (Summer 1991): 395-409.
- Wolfe, George C. "Camille Billops." Issue: A Journal for Artists (Spring 1986): 26-29.
