Recapturing the Faces of the Past/Portraying Reading’s Present/Discovering A Decade of Change in the Faces of Our Fellow Citizens. [email protected]
As a historian, it’s in my nature and training to wonder about change over time. So it was perhaps inevitable that I would revisit my 2004-05 project, Faces of Reading: 1000 Portraits of a City during the summer of 2016. Those images – exhibited on the walls of what was then the Albright College Cultural Center on Penn Street, or on the famous poster, or on my ongoing website, http://facesofreadin
g.zenfolio.com/ - were snapshots in time. As such they documented – indeed, celebrated - the diversity of Reading residents at a particular moment. Now, more than a decade later, they have become what historians call “primary sources,” eyewitness accounts of an earlier moment, objects for potential comparison, and, with the pursuit of Faces of Reading + 10, points along a trajectory of change. Throughout this process ten years later, I have enjoyed the collaboration of Angela Cremer, a Senior honors student in Communications and Photography at Albright College. Angela is a native of Berks County and the granddaughter of Reading natives. She is an accomplished photographer and editor. Her chief tasks have been to assist with the detective work of finding our original faces, to document photographically all aspects of the project, and to engage with all the participants. My goal is to study both individual and collective trajectories of change. To demographers and actuaries, many of these changes are utterly predictable. They and I knew that a number of my original sitters, of whatever age, would no longer be with us in 2015. Of those that survive, the babies have passed into childhood, the teens into adulthood, and the aged into senescence, while those who were 45 then pretend that 55 is now the new forty-five. The steady march of years has brought predictable life events as well: marriages, births, divorces, triumphs, and disappointments. This photography project looks for the traces these events have left in the faces we re-photograph. This is a deeply human story, one that we all share. Our goal for the Summer of 2016 is to reflect upon the harvest we collected last Summer, to design and print a new poster, to write and design a book about the project, and to build support for a public exhibition of the Faces. We will also undertake selected projects to further enhance our Community's vision of itself.
~ John Pankratz
10/06/2017
What an awesome video put together by the Reading City Church! Thanks so much for your kind review of the exhibition. It was our hope to have people come view the exhibition to see our community as one and celebrate the diversity of the city. Thanks for helping to spread this message!
RCC Update Live from Freedman Art Gallery
In this video update hear from Luke Jones about the Freedman Art Gallery on the Campus of Albright College. Learn about their current exhibition Faces of Rea...
10/06/2017
We love reading everyone's thoughts and reactions to seeing the Faces of Reading exhibition at ! What did you think of it when you saw it? Be sure to stop by The Freedman Gallery by next Friday, October 13 to see it for yourself, and let us know! @ The Freedman Gallery at Albright College
10/06/2017
Stop by The Freedman Gallery at Albright College now through October 13 so you, too, can view the diverse Faces that make up our beautiful city!
09/03/2017
Faces of Reading +10 was listed as the Number One must-see local exhibitions! Check out the review that appeared in this morning's paper, and see the exhibition for yourself, now through October 13th at The Freedman Gallery at Albright College!
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays, Saturdays and holidays.
Thanks to all, both participants of the project and interested members of the community, who came out to our final reception at Albright College's Freedman Gallery this past Thursday. We loved hearing your thoughts on the exhibition and enjoyed reuniting with our Faces - from our youngest Face who was only weeks old when he participated back in 2005 to a couple, now married, who enjoyed having their photos taken during one of their first dates over ten years ago.
08/31/2017
Come see the exhibition for yourself - now through October 13th at The Freedman Gallery at Albright College, and join us for our final reception tomorrow evening from 5-7 p.m.
More info at: Faces of Reading + 10, Opening Campus Reception
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
The gallery is closed on Mondays, Saturdays and holidays.
We enjoyed being interviewed by Karin Mallett, a returning Face of Reading, this afternoon. Tune in to WFMZ's 69 News
tonight at 5:30 p.m. and again at 11:00 p.m. to hear Faces of Reading + 10's story!
If you haven’t had a chance to see the exhibition for yourself yet, tomorrow is a great opportunity to do so! We will have a reception from 5-7 p.m. at The Freedman Gallery at Albright College.
Learn more at: Faces of Reading + 10, Opening Campus Reception
08/21/2017
Thanks to the more than one hundred visitors who came to the The Freedman Gallery at Albright College yesterday to see themselves, their family,and nearly 900 of their fellow Readingites.
A great turnout so far! We will be open until 4:00 this afternoon.
08/20/2017
What a beautiful day for a Gallery Opening! We look forward to seeing you between 1 and 4 this afternoon!
08/18/2017
The Faces of Reading +10 exhibition opens THIS SUNDAY! Please join us at Albright College's The Freedman Gallery at Albright College any time between 1 and 4 p.m. The exhibition is FREE and open to the public and includes nearly 900 portraits of citizens of Reading, Pennsylvania!
07/24/2017
The opening reception of Faces of Reading +10 is fast approaching! There’s still five days to make a donation towards the exhibition and feel a sense of ownership and pride as an important member of the Reading community. As always, we appreciate everyone’s support and will be acknowledging it accordingly throughout the exhibition. "Seeing each of us as an individual; seeing all of us as a community." It's not just a slogan; it's a step forward.
Faces of Reading: Photo Exhibition
A free exhibition. Seeing EACH of us as an individual; Seeing ALL of us as a community. | Crowdfunding is a democratic way to support the fundraising needs of your community. Make a contribution today!
Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Reading?
10/06/2017
10/06/2017
09/03/2017
09/03/2017
08/31/2017
08/30/2017
08/20/2017
08/20/2017
08/18/2017
07/24/2017