Family Photography Exhibition

We are excited to announce two new photography exhibitions that explore the meaning of family opening next Friday: Beyond Family by Ariya Aladjem Wolf and Joan & Harold by Sharon Turner.

Please join us for the opening reception on August 12 from 6 - 9pm and artists’ talk on August 13 from 1 - 2:30pm in the Sunken Gallery. Both exhibitions will run until September 17.

Joan & Harold is photographer Sharon Turner's intimate portrait of her parents.. Turner’s mother, Joan, encouraged her daughter’s early desire to write, while her father, Harold, gave her her first 35mm camera. After the passing of both her parents, Turner reflected as she made reprints from copy negatives of old family photos. When she printed her own negatives, she started with the ones documenting their demise and worked backwards to the images she took of their daily lives. “This was a way for me to process their absence and my grief,” says Turner. “I exhibit these images and stories of my parents as a way for me to honor them, to acknowledge their impact on my life, and to share aspects of their lives that may resonate with others.”

Artist Bio: Sharon Turner is a photographer based in Rochester, NY. She discovered her passion for photography during her first class at the Community Darkroom in 1977. She served as the Darkroom’s Director from 1978 - 2018 and Youth Program Coordinator from 1994 - 2018. Turner has been telling people’s stories through images and writing for the past 45 years. Her previous projects include a retrospective of her grandmother’s life, an exploration of Hamilton Street through portraits and interviews with her neighbors, and highlights from 24 years of the Clarissa Street Reunion.

Beyond Family is a collection of photographs made by Ariya Aladjem Wolf with an 8x10, large format camera that explores the meaning of family through Wolf’s personal experience growing up at the Rochester Zen Center, and being raised by Zen Buddhists. She traveled across the country to photograph her now far-flung original community. “My story is about belonging, and of honoring my elders,” says Wolf. “But, it might also be about loss. Of feeling held and seen in community and then experiencing the fading away of that, and of now having to find my own community, my own rituals, and my own unique and personal way.” On display are contact printed, gelatin silver portraits, archival pigment printed landscapes and a limited edition artist book.

Artist Bio: Ariya Aladjem Wolf is a visual artist, performer, and educator based in New Orleans (Bulbancha). Her creative output over the past two decades has focused on collaboration and community-driven projects. She received her MFA in Imaging Arts-Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology; is co-founder of the non-profit One Bird; a founding member of the female photography collective Southerly Gold, and a member of Serpentine Choir. She teaches photography in the fine arts department as an Assistant Professor at the University of New Orleans.

This event is free and open to the public. We look forward to seeing you at 713 Monroe Ave!