Opening Reception for Both Sides of the Lens Exhibition Tonight at Central Library

An opening reception for Both Sides of the Lens: Photographs by the Shackelford Family, Fayette County, Alabama (1900-1935) will be held in the Arrington Auditorium followed by a tour of the exhibition on Tuesday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. The reception will feature a lecture by Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park and will be followed by a heritage food tasting.

Both Sides of the Lens: Photographs by the Shackelford Family, Fayette County, Alabama (1900-1935) features 40 photographs from this collection of early 20th century glass plate negatives. The exhibition opened in the Fourth Floor Exhibition Gallery of the Central Library on Monday, July 23 and runs through Friday, September 14.

The photographs—rich for their visual record of everyday life in rural Alabama—are also remarkable because of the story behind them. Taken by a family of African-American photographers who lived in Covin, Alabama, the images reveal the lives of the photographers as well as those being photographed. Read more about the exhibition.