Exhibition Fact Sheet from the National Building Museum
|
For Immediate Release:
June 12, 2009
|
Storefront Churches: Fact Sheet
Photographs by Camilo José Vergara
Exhibition
Storefront Churches: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara
When
June 20, 2009 through November 29, 2009
Where
National Building Museum, second-floor galleries
Overview
Storefront Churches: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara narrates Vergara's 30-year exploration of the unassuming buildings that offer a place of worship in some of the poorest urban neighborhoods in the United States. The exhibition includes 86 framed photographs and more than 100 additional images in complementary slide shows. These visually arresting color photographs of former storefronts—and homes, garages, factories, and warehouses—that have been remade into churches tell a story of faith and resourcefulness in places that have little else. Vergara was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2002 and is one of the nation's foremost urban documentarians. Storefront Churches marks the Museum's fourth collaboration with Vergara and will be on view through November 29, 2009.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Vergara will participate in the Museum's summer outreach program, Investigating Where We Live (IWWL), which empowers middle and high school students to explore and interpret city neighborhoods through photography, interviews, and creative writing. Now in its 14th year, IWWL was actually inspired by Vergara's first exhibition at the Museum, The New American Ghetto: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara. Vergara will also give a public lecture this November on his work in conjunction with FotoWeek DC 2009.
About the Artist
Camilo José Vergara is a photographer, documentarian, and author whose subject is America's inner cities. He first began recording poor urban landscapes in 1970 and, since 1977, has systematically photographed some of the nation's most impoverished neighborhoods. He was born in Santiago, Chile, and currently lives in New York City.
Curators
The co-organizers of this exhibition are Camilo José Vergara and National Building Museum curator Chrysanthe Broikos.
Sponsors
Storefront Churches: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara is made possible by the Director's Exhibition Fund with additional support from Reed Construction Data.
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and planning. Chartered by Congress in 1980 and open to the public since 1985, the Museum has become a vital forum for exchanging ideas and information about the built environment through its exhibitions, education programs, and publications. The Museum is located at 401 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free. Museum Shop. Café. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org.
