Aperture Danny Lyon, Justine Kurland, Louis Carlos Bernal
LaToya’s Notion of Family (2014) has been chosen alongside of other books featuring Dawoud Bey, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others.
LaToya Ruby Frazier: The Notion of Family
LaToya Ruby Frazier’s award-winning first photobook, The Notion of Family, offers an incisive exploration of the legacies of racism and economic decline in America’s small towns, as embodied by her hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania. Frazier examines the effects of that decline on the community, her own family, and the narratives of the region. Setting the story across three generations—her grandma Ruby, her mother, and herself—Frazier reinforces the idea of art and image-making as a transformative act, a means of resetting traditional power dynamics and narratives—both those of her family and of the community at large.
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The video installations by acclaimed artist LaToya Ruby Frazier at Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) examine environmental injustice and the lived experiences of working class communities in the USA.
Frazier’s practice focuses on the rights, struggles, and legacies of working class communities in the manufacturing corridors and deindustrialised regions of America. Through collaborative documentary processes, she creates photographs, texts, performances, and installations that function as tools for visual and social justice.
Working closely with communities that are part of her projects, Frazier emphasises co-authorship in producing testimony, storytelling, and image-making. Her work seeks to restore narrative agency to people directly affected by livelihood and environmental crises, particularly those shaped by gender discrimination and racism.
Drawing from her own experiences with the impact of toxic environments on families, she examines similar situations across the country and challenges the media silence surrounding such crises.
At the ongoing KMB, Frazier is exhibiting two works from her larger project Flint is Family (2016–22), which chronicles the devastating water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The project documents the consequences of government negligence that triggered one of the worst man-made water crises in the United States. Once a major automobile hub with a large Black working-class population, Flint continues to struggle with the basic right to safe and uncontaminated water.
Currently on view at the Anand Warehouse, the video installation portrays life amid the prolonged crisis through the experiences of singer, bus driver, and activist Shea Cobb and her family.
Frazier’s compassionate photographic narratives capture everyday life shaped by the crisis: from protests and contaminated school water fountains to community safety notices and the growing distrust of government institutions. Alongside these moments, the work also documents intimate scenes of resilience, including Cobb helping her daughter with homework, attending family gatherings, and installing water alkalisation units at home.
Through monochromatic imagery, Frazier and Cobb bring attention to the ongoing struggle for dignity, safe homes, and a better future for communities confronting environmental injustice and displacement.
Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania PRESS RELEASE
Congratulations to LaToya Ruby Frazier on her induction into the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania, a recognition that honors extraordinary women for their outstanding service and contributions to the Commonwealth.
Governor Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro Recognize Eight Women as 2025 Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania
Velma A. Redmond, of Carlisle, the 26th President of the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania, announced the new Inductees for the Distinguished Daughters Class of 2025. Governor Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro will recognize the eight women at this year’s Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania annual luncheon at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
“Since its inception, the Distinguished Daughters has been honoring extraordinary women for their outstanding service and contributions to our Commonwealth,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “The women we recognize bring an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge, are leaders in their respective fields, and have showcased extraordinary professionalism in all aspects of their careers. The Commonwealth is proud to claim each of the Distinguished Daughters as our own, as each of their stories reflect Pennsylvania’s rich past and herald the promise of a bright future through collaborative service.”
The members of the 2025 Class of Distinguished Daughters of PA are: Marion C. Alexander, Honorable Kim Berkeley Clark, Laura Ellsworth, J.D., LaToya Ruby Frazier, Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., Katherine A. High, M.D., Rosalind Remer, Ph.D., Ala Stanford, M.D.
Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania was organized in 1949 to honor women who have given distinguished service through their careers to their communities, the Commonwealth and the nation. Since its founding, a total of 566 extraordinary women of Pennsylvania have been recognized for their professional and volunteer accomplishments.
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In 2024, The Museum of Modern Art presented LaToya Ruby Frazier: Monuments of Solidarity, a landmark survey showcasing the full breadth of the artist’s practice. One year later, curators Roxana Marcoci and Caitlin Ryan, Jessica Bell Brown, and civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill, reflect on the exhibition’s creation, its impact, and the enduring resonance of Frazier’s work in reviving and preserving overlooked histories of labor, gender, and race in the post-industrial era.
Sophia Cohen speaks with New York Liberty Owner Clara Wu Tsai about how she has transformed the Liberty’s home at Barclays Center into a cultural and entertainment hub.
LaToya Ruby Frazier, THE LIBERTY PORTRAITS: A MONUMENT TO THE 2024 CHAMPIONS (2024-2025), 2025. Photography by Daniel Greer at the Barclays Center. Image courtesy of the artist and Gladstone.
I’ve spent my fair share of time in sports stadiums and arenas. Like museums, they are special places where a wide variety of people come together with a common goal to witness excellence. The businesswoman and philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai—who owns the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center, and, as of 2019, the New York Liberty—is working to bring the worlds of art and sports closer together. A noted collector, she has been collaborating with artists including LaToya Ruby Frazier, Sarah Sze, and Rashid Johnson to develop ambitious art for the Brooklyn stadium.
I tried my hand at combining these two sectors last year, when I helped develop a line of artist-designed tote bags and hats for the New York Mets. The experience made me eager to connect with Wu Tsai, who has helped Barclays evolve into the culture and entertainment platform it is today. This month, the stadium unveiled a new project by Frazier, the artist’s first public work. Frazier designed nine-foot-tall portraits of each player on the Liberty’s 2024 championship-winning roster—one side features a portrait of a player in uniform, and the reverse showcases the same player with their chosen family.
I chatted with Wu Tsai about what it means to commission with care and what the art world can learn from her masterclass in reaching new audiences.
Sophia Cohen: I’m really happy we’re doing this. I feel there’s a lot of synergy between us—loving art and loving sports. You’re way more actively involved as a co-owner, whereas I’m just the family of [the owner, Steve Cohen is Sophia’s father]. But we both want to bring art out of the white cube. I’d love to hear a little more about the Social Justice Fund, which aims to address systemic inequality in Brooklyn, and the development of your public art projects.
Clara Wu Tsai: The Social Justice Fund started in 2020, and one of our first projects was a public art commission: the neon art installation by Tavares [Strachan] that states, “We Belong Here” in Tavares’s own cursive script. This phrase is somewhat of an anthem of the Social Justice Fund. It is a message that we hoped could instill a sense of agency and a belief that all people in Brooklyn can coexist in beautiful ways. We have a belief that art is a powerful tool for fostering empathy and community. We believe that art should be accessible to all. These themes form the basis for why we want to commission more public art at the Barclays Center.
LaToya Ruby Frazier, THE LIBERTY PORTRAITS: A MONUMENT TO THE 2024 CHAMPIONS (2024-2025), 2025. Photography by Daniel Greer at the Barclays Center. Image courtesy of the artist and Gladstone.
Cohen: You’re working with LaToya Ruby Frazier, Sarah Sze, and Rashid Johnson. I’ve actually worked with Rashid and Sarah Sze on a [New York] Mets project, so I know how excited they are to be more involved in New York sports. Gavin Brown represented LaToya Ruby Frazier when I was working there, so I know her artwork very well, but I’m so curious to hear her take on this project.
Wu Tsai: I met LaToya through the Gordon Parks Foundation in 2023, the year that I was honored at their gala. In my remarks, I talked about how I was motivated to follow Parks’s example in using art and storytelling to bring visibility to the WNBA. That resonated with LaToya because she is a former basketball player and has always wanted to tell their stories. When we met, we quickly discovered our shared passion for basketball and uplifting women athletes.
When we initially talked about her doing a project about the players of the New York Liberty, she was just getting ready to mount her show at MoMA, and so the timing wasn’t right. The following year, we advanced to the championship round for the second time. We thought this was the right time to create a series of portraits of the team.
LaToya focused on making sure the players didn’t feel that she was just a photojournalist. She really embraced the players. She noticed the duality—they’re heroes, but she also wanted to reveal their humanity. In their display cases, the pieces are about nine feet tall. There are family portraits alongside images of each player with their game face on, and there are also family testimonials, which are an essential part of the project. She traveled to their hometowns and took the time to connect with them.
LaToya Ruby Frazier, Yolanda Laney, Karis Melo Laney, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and Jessie Joy Laney, Brooklyn, New York, 2024, from THE LIBERTY PORTRAITS: A MONUMENT TO THE 2024 CHAMPIONS (2024-2025). Image courtesy of the artist.
Cohen: I’d love to talk about bringing the Liberty to Barclays and putting them on an equal playing field with the NBA. What was your mindset in doing that?
Wu Tsai: When we bought the team, they were playing in Westchester County Center, an arena that had a seating capacity of 2,000. In the early days, the team played at Madison Square Garden to crowds of 18,000. So one of the first things we did was bring them to Barclays Center, where the Brooklyn Nets play. The vision was to field a team that could win, bring the old fan base back, and attract new audiences. We believed in the business potential of the WNBA. We started to invest in the team, in player health and wellbeing, and in nutrition and performance. We felt that women’s sports had been underinvested in.
Cohen: As you said before, [working with] artists and athletes can be similar: there’s always a little bit of a dance with what’s possible and where to meet in the middle. I’d be curious to hear about surprises that arose while working with artists or complexities that you found interesting as both a collector and a sports team owner.
Wu Tsai: Realizing the vision for this project was complex. With the Monument to Champions, the idea was conceived by the artist in collaboration with me. When you have an art project involving the entire team, there is a process to get the players to buy in. We invited them to a tour of LaToya’s MoMA show in its final weeks—it was a great way to introduce them to her work, and for LaToya to share more about her process. We wanted to give the team the time to understand and embrace LaToya’s approach to storytelling.
This is her first public art piece. She was very involved in designing the sculptural installation, as much as shooting the portraits themselves. She was interested in the sightlines of the portraits and how they will be experienced by visitors and fans as they move through the plaza and into the arena. Through all the difficulties in scheduling shoots with the players and their families, she was very gracious. Public spaces always have so many unexpected parameters—weather, light, egress. While I am sure that some aspects were not what she had envisioned, she was incredibly agreeable and joyful from start to finish. […]
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The Liberty Portraits honor the New York Liberty’s first WNBA title with images that celebrate players not just as athletes, but as leaders, daughters, sisters and icons.
The Liberty Portraits: A Monument to the 2024 Champions by LaToya Ruby Frazier at Barclays Center to celebrate the New York Liberty’s first-ever WNBA championship.
A powerful new public art installation, The Liberty Portraits: A Monument to the 2024 Champions, by acclaimed artist LaToya Ruby Frazier, has been unveiled at Barclays Center. In a powerful intersection of sport, art and social story telling – the portraits celebrate the New York Liberty’s first-ever WNBA championship by turning the spotlight on the athletes not only as professionals, but as human beings with personal stories, and deep roots.
“I was inspired by the Statue of Liberty’s eternal promise,” said Frazier. “I’m interested in creating a bridge between the fans and the team, deepening a sense of compassion and commanding the dignity and respect the team deserves. These portraits are intended to stand as beacons of women’s leadership and the power of sisterhood.”
The nine-foot-tall, double sided portraits stretch across the plaza at Barclays Center. The work celebrates each player as both athlete and individual. One side shows a striking image of a player in uniform; on the reverse, we see each athlete in a deeply personal setting – with their families, in homes and places that shaped them.
The project was spearheaded by Clara Wu Tsai, Vice Chair of BSE Global and Governor of the Liberty, as the inaugural commission in a newly launched public art program at Barclays Center. The program will feature rotating works by contemporary artists.
“It’s an honor for Barclays Center to be home to LaToya Ruby Frazier’s first public art installation—and for the New York Liberty to be her chosen subject,” said Wu Tsai. “This is the inaugural work of a new art program designed to celebrate artists and the creative spirit of Brooklyn.”
The Liberty Portraits: A Monument to the 2024 Champions by LaToya Ruby Frazier
Drawing inspiration from the Statue of Liberty, the instillation reframes the champions as icons of freedom, power, and possibility. The work is intended as both tribute and a bridge – deepening the connection between team and fans.
The Liberty Portraits is free and open to the public on the plaza at Barclays Center through the 2025 WNBA season. It is not just a tribute to the champs, but a rally for visibility, and recognition for women athletes.
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