Bilingual museum exhibit features Gaston County photographers

A new, bilingual exhibit at the Gaston County Museum of Art and History highlights the history of photography, largely through the lenses of photographers from Gaston County.

The exhibit, titled "Into the Darkroom," explores photography, "not only as a technological advancement, but as a modern art form," said museum curator Alicyn Wiedrich.

"And the big catalyst for me is that photography is one of those rare art mediums that captures … a moment. And there are a lot of examples throughout history where photography in particular changed how people felt about societal issues," Wiedrich said.

The exhibit includes a display on Gaston County photographer Ennis Atkins, who was a photographer for The Gazette until 1947.

After he died, his estate donated a collection of thousands of his photographs to the museum, Wiedrich said.

The exhibit also features work by Lewis Hine, who photographed children working in textile mills in Gaston County and other areas. His photographs helped spur the development of child labor laws in the United States.

Work by Rick Haithcox, a photographer who lives in Dallas, is also featured prominently in the exhibit. Haithcox also donated materials from his own darkroom, a space used to develop photos, to help the museum create an authentic darkroom in the exhibit.

Haithcox "was very valuable to putting this whole exhibit together," Wiedrich said.

The exhibit features historical artifacts that include cameras and photographs from different points in history, as well as a timeline that shows the history of photography.

The final section of the exhibit, which includes Haithcox's darkroom, also has interactive features, including an area where visitors may take photographs of themselves and hang them up in the exhibit.

Wiedrich said that to make the exhibit fully bilingual — putting text throughout in English and Spanish — was a deliberate decision that was formed after conversation with a latinx community panel.

"And when I got on board, they told me pretty much right off the bat that … for Spanish speakers, it's hard for them to go places like museums, because you know, when they get there, there's nothing for them there. And so I really wanted to make this an inclusive experience," Wiedrich said.

The exhibit will be on display through July 2023. Admission to the museum is free.

Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County bilingual museum exhibit features Gaston photographers