RALEIGH – Visitors to the Cleveland County Memorial Library in Shelby can see North Carolina as they’ve never seen it before in the “Telling Our Stories” Photography Exhibit. It includes 50 images from the state’s mountains to the coast that show different events and time periods. The Friends of the Library will host an opening reception from 5-7 p.m., on July 20, for the unique exhibit on display July 16 through Aug. 6.
Organized by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the exhibition incorporates 21 images from some of the state’s best professional photographers, 11 from the top winners of Our State magazine’s 2008 photography contest, and for the first time, 18 photographs from the State Archives are on tour (www.ncculture.com/TOS_2008/TOS_home.asp). The State Library of North Carolina contacted public libraries to display the exhibit, which is traveling an eastern and western route through December.
Photographers from the Charlotte area include Our State magazine winner Walter Stone of Charlotte, with Gardens at Tryon Palace, and several professionals from Charlotte. Among those are Byron Baldwin and Andrea Brown with Dairy Queen, and roomneedles, respectively. Other Charlotte area photographers in the exhibit are Lisa Holder and Linda Foard Roberts.
Comments written in a notebook accompanying the exhibit reflect positive impressions. From Henderson County, “Oh! A travel back in time to “My State” – A glimpse of other places and times with a realistic view of 2008. Great job! And “Wonderful memories of days gone by. These pictures tell us why we are the people we are today.” McDowell County viewers wrote, “Very impressive, simply wonderful. Evocative!” and “Great exhibit – I really enjoyed the pictures.”
For information call the Cleveland County library at (704) 487-9069 or call (919) 807-7385 for information on the tour. The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources administers the State Library and State Archives 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.