RALEIGH – Visitors to the Henderson County Public Library will get a fresh look at North Carolina through the “Telling Our Stories Photography Exhibit” which opens Monday, May 4. The exhibit contains 50 images from the mountains to the coast that show different time periods. Organized by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the exhibition incorporates some of the state’s best professional and amateur photographers, and for the first time photographs from the State Archives are on tour. The exhibit will close on May 25, to travel to the Mountains Branch Library in Lake Lure.
The “Telling Our Stories” exhibit will visit public libraries across the state through December 2009, and was coordinated by the State Library of North Carolina. It has an eastern and a western route; each includes 11 images from the top winners of the 2008 Our State magazine Readers Choice Photography contest, 21 images from professional photographers, and 18 pictures from the State Archives. Among images are a young Andy Griffith in The Lost Colony, a desert crossing, and a pleasant pig. Learn more at http://www.ncculture.com/TOS_2008/TOS_home.asp.
Our State grand prize winner Bonnie Short, from Hendersonville, offers an arresting photograph Blue heron in my backyard which is a real crowd pleaser. Hendersonville photographer Chris Talbot has a mood-filled View from Lake Summit in the exhibition. Two professional photographers are in the exhibit, Pamela Pecchio of Asheville shares Habitation, and Rob Amberg of Marshall shares Blast supervisors inspecting site.
Earlier stops of the tour were well received. “The staff and patrons have really enjoyed the pictures,” said Rockingham Library Director Jay Stephens. “The staff didn’t want to let it go.” A patron in Lenoir wrote, “Just wonderful! Especially the black and whites – fond memories of days gone by,” and from Marion, “I am familiar with the magazine and pictures. What a wonderful surprise! Do more of this.”
For additional information, call the library at (828) 697-4725, or Cultural Resources at (919) 807-7389. The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources administers the State Archives and the State Library, and is the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture, with information 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.