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McDowell Library will host 'Telling Our Stories' photo exhibit

By Mike Conley | The McDowell News

Published: January 6, 2009

Starting later this month, a statewide photo exhibit will come to the county library and tell the stories of North Carolinians past and present.
Visitors to the McDowell County Public Library in Marion will get a fresh look at North Carolina through the "Telling Our Stories" photography exhibit, which opens Thursday, Jan. 22. 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 around the 2008 "Telling Our Stories" theme, the exhibition features some of the state's best professional and amateur photographers of today. For the first time old photographs from the N.C. State Archives are on the tour. The exhibit will close on Feb. 16 and then travel to the Madison County Public Library.
"This is the first time the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has launched a statewide traveling exhibit and the first time that N.C. State Archives photos have been on public display, so we're very excited about all the library venues that are participating," said Betty Patterson, public information assistant, for the Department of Cultural Resources.
Jane Berryhill, adult program coordinator for the county library, said the exhibit would be held in the Marion library's large meeting room located downstairs. Folks will be able to see the photos during the regular hours.
"It is the very first time we've ever hosted something like this," said Berryhill. "We are hoping to get our schools involved. It might be quite a history lesson for some of them."
The "Telling Our Stories" exhibit will visit public libraries across the state through December 2009, on an eastern and a western route.
The various photos will mostly feature the people, places and events of North Carolina, both past and present. Most of the artists are photographers who have some affiliation with the Tar Heel State. Some professional photos were taken outside the United States. The pictures feature young and old, across cultures and classes, and are in color or black and white.
The exhibit 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 N.C. State Archives. Some of the photos in the collection show farmers working in the field, a 1918 women's basketball team from Spencer, jazz great Dizzy Gillespie, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a parade and a young Andy Griffith acting in the outdoor drama "The Lost Colony." The historic photos range from the 1880s to the late 1990s.
"I am very excited about it," said Library Director Jean Krause, adding she doesn't know which ones will come here.
Earlier stops of the tour in Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Eden and Elizabethtown 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."
In New Hanover County, Library Director Dorothy Hodder found patrons paused to view the Telling Our Stories images. "They really noticed and appreciated the exhibit," said Hodder. Among comments written were, "Wonderful photos, I enjoyed each one!" and "Nice art show. My 6-year-old son and I enjoyed it."
Patrons in Bladen County also responded, writing, "Very worthwhile exhibit of North Carolina's heritage – people, places, animals and nature," and "Some beautiful photography, some showed very clever meanings…" Visitors are encouraged to add their comments to the "Telling Our Stories" notebook.

For more information, call the McDowell County Public Library at 652-3858 or visit http://www.ncculture.com/TOS_2008/TOS_home.asp.