Department of Art & Art History Co-presents Photographic Exhibition

The Department of Art & Art History joins the Levine Scholars Program and J. Murrey Atkins Library to present Nowhere | Now Here, a photographic exhibition documenting the Latin American community of a small town in North Carolina. The exhibition will be on display on the first floor of Atkins Library March 28-April 23.

Organized by Victoria Byers, Jacqueline Chan, and Tanner Parks, three senior undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte, the project seeks to document and give voice to a vibrant community that is often overlooked and at times misunderstood. Photographs by Victoria Byers of the Department of Art & Art History and 15 students of Mexican and Honduran descent seek to place this community on the map, creating a space of interaction within the social fabric of the greater Carolina region.

An opening reception will be held in the Halton Room of Atkins Library on March 28 from 5:00-7:00 pm. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public.

Byers initiated this project in the spring and summer of 2015, when she began working with latino families to develop a photographic education program. Supported by their families, and armed with point and shoot film cameras, the students, ranging in age from 6 to 15, studied photography withn Byers over a three month period. While Byers worked with the families to document and record their experiences through her own photography, the students responded to prompts to record formal and aesthetic aspects of their world from their perspective.

As part of a reflection activity, videographer Tanner Parks interviewed students about their work and their experiences learning photography. This video documentation of the project will be screened as part of the exhibition. Project manager Jacqueline Chan has overseen the exhibition installation, related programming, events, and future venues.

In addition to the opening reception on Monday, March 28, immigration experts will respond to the exhibition as part of a panel discussion at the William Wilson Brown, Jr. conference on Latin American Studies, to take place at 3:30 pm on Thursday, March 31, at UNC Charlotte Center City.

This exhibition is part of a Civic Engagement Project funded by the Levine Scholars Program to support a proposal submitted by senior Levine Scholars Jacqueline Chan and Tanner Parks. After the exhibition closes on April 23, a selection of the works will be exhibited in an arts festival at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.