Born Diane Nemerov in New York City on March 14, 1923, Diane Arbus transformed the world of photography by focusing her lens on those who often lived beyond society’s spotlight.

She began in fashion photography with her husband but soon walked away from posed perfection. “Taking pictures,” she once said, “is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” A secret hunger. A quiet rebellion.

Encouraged by mentor Lisette Model to explore the forbidden, Arbus turned her lens toward society’s edges—with empathy, presence, and kokoro. “I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them,” she said.

Innovative, offbeat, and fearless, Arbus earned two Guggenheim fellowships. Dubbed “The Wizard of Odds,” she photographed not to provoke but to understand—to capture truth with intimacy and awe. A critic once claimed she “catered to the peeping Tom in all of us,” but Arbus offered more: she looked with wonder where others turned away.

She explained her vision and reason for photographing souls on the edge of society: “Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats.”

Arbus didn’t seek to shock — she sought to understand. Her camera asked hard questions about love, identity, and belonging. She saw people as whole, even when the world refused to.

This celebration honors the complexity of her vision, her courage to reveal what others turned away from, and her unwavering pursuit of honesty… and love… through art.