Cambridge-based Chapman has been taking pictures for over fifty years. Recurrent themes in his work have included baseball, music, and the exploration of American culture. Since his childhood, Chapman has been drawn to gospel music. When the Multicultural Arts Center began presenting the gospel concert Joyful Noise in 2000, he became a regular attendee. In 2014, after attending, and photographing, the Harlem Gospel Choirs Joyful Noise concert at Harvard’s Sanders Theater, Chapman was asked to be the choir’s official photographer. He has since photographed twenty-five of their performances.
Gospel in Motion is a series of 25 photographs of the Harlem Gospel Choir. Synonymous with power vocals, glorious sound, and infectious energy, Chapman’s images give us an intimate portrait of the thriving, cultural powerhouse that the choir is.
Bill Chapman
“You’re an American. You know what to do.” — Dr. Ernest Withers
A simple phrase uttered by his mentor describes Bill Chapman’s photography more concisely than the extensive commentary produced over the years about the man and his work. At a very early age, Chapman’s interests in politics, civil rights, baseball and music were tied to a passion for photography. Over the years he has explored each topic — and much more — through both film and digital imagery.
Chapman has traveled throughout America to discover “the cruel radiance of what is,” as Walker Evans phrased it. His photographs have been described as “sardonic but good natured.” America has experienced a daunting number of peaks and valleys in the treatment of its citizenry and the way it represents itself within its own borders. Chapman set out to both befriend and embrace that America through his photographs.
Bill Chapman’s work has been exhibited at The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Gallery Kayafas, Harvard University, The Griffin Museum and many other locations. His images have been published in a wide variety of books, including Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston by Howard Bryant (Beacon Press, 2003), Negro League Baseball by Ernest C. Withers (Harry N. Abrams, 2005), Bluff City by Preston Lauterbach (W.W. Norton & Co., 2019) Rickwood Field: A Century in America’s Oldest Ballpark by Allen Barra (W.W. Norton & Co., 2010). Many publications have also featured Chapman’s images, including: The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Preservation Magazine, University of Budapest, Art New England and ESPN Magazine.
March 16 – April 3, 2026
