Georgia museum hosts awkward family photos exhibit as JCPennys Portraits trend takes off

Emilee Coblentz, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read

Some family photos are just so awkward, they deserve to be in a museum.

The Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia is hosting an exhibit brought to the public by AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com. Through Jan. 7, visitors can explore more than 200 blown-up portraits that bring laughter, nostalgia, and a celebration of the wonderfully imperfect moments that define family life," according to the museum's website.

Joel Reyna looks at an Awkward Family Photos exhibition at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California, on April 4, 2021.
Joel Reyna looks at an Awkward Family Photos exhibition at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California, on April 4, 2021.

Awkward family photos are nothing new but there's been rising interest in recent years in people purposefully creating – or re-creating – their own or sharing their favorites with the #jcpenneyportraits hashtag.

"We’re just so glad to see people coming in and laughing and reminiscing, and going, ‘Oh, this reminds me of this picture,’ or even just a story of something that happened in their own family," Rebecca Bush, the Columbus Museum’s curator of history and exhibitions manager, told WAGA-TV in Atlanta.

How to view the awkward family photos exhibit

The Columbus Museum is in the middle of renovations, so the gallery has been assigned a temporary location that happens to be an old photography studio where similar photos were once captured, the outlet reported.

The awkward family photo exhibit is 1327 Wynnton Road in Columbus. The gallery will be up and running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time Tuesday through Saturday until Jan. 7. Entrance is free.

If you can't make it to Georgia, the exhibit will be heading to the Ellen Noel Art Museum in Odessa, Texas, from March to June, the Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri, in July and August, and the Laurel Historical Society in Laurel, Maryland, from September to November. Check here for exact dates and other information.

Past exhibits have been held across the U.S., from Santa Monica, California to Middlebury, Vermont.

Viral awkward family photos

Of course, there isn't an exhibit large enough to contain all of the awkward family photo gold. Here are a few of the internet's most viral birthed from the JCPenney Portraits trend this holiday season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Columbus Museum in Georgia hosts awkward family photo exhibit