Being on the "Black List" is now something to celebrate - especially when it means being in the company of athletes Serena Williams and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, comedian Chris Rock and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Brooklyn Museum recently held a party for its new photography exhibition called "The Black List," which includes 25 large-scale portraits of prominent African-Americans by photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.

The artist Lorna Simpson, whose work is also currently exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, was excited to stand in front of her portrait.

"Well, it's gorgeous, but its gorgeous because of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders," said Simpson. "I have to say, all the portraits here are amazing and I mean an amazing collection of political figures, athletes, poets, comedians, musicians."

The Black List project also takes the form of a book and a documentary which is being shown on HBO throughout the year.

"The concept of the 'Black List' is kind of really about the African-American experience today," said Greenfield-Sanders. "I really wanted as a photographer and a filmmaker to show this wide range of talent, of experience and of accomplishment. So it's from Zane to Tony Morrison to Keenen Ivory Wayans to Puffy Combs to Colin Powell."

Excerpts of the "Black List" video are being played at the museum. Greenfield-Sanders and writer-critic Elvis Mitchell collaborated on the entire project.

Mitchell conducted the interviews for the documentary.

"We wanted people who were not the usual suspects in some ways," said Mitchell. "I mean if you were to see some of this on PBS, you wouldn't see Slash, for example, because so much of the way we view black culture is reductive or archetypal or two-dimensional. So when you think of black music you think of rap, you think of hip-hop, you think of R&B or maybe if you are progressive you say jazz. You forget that we invented rock and roll, that we are the leading exemplars, are still influential, still practicing."

Studio Museum in Harlem curator Thelma Golden calls the exhibition an important snapshot of African-Americans today.

"In many ways, the record they have created tells so many stories that really allows one to understand and to really feel the complexity," said Golden.

"The Black List Project" is on view in the Brooklyn Museum until March 29. For more information, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org.