Annual Exhibit Archives

DC Public Library Secures Exposed DC Photography Collection

October 22, 2024 By Noe Todorovich

Images Document District Life and Culture

Washington, D.C. — The DC Public Library has acquired the Exposed DC Photography Collection, an archive of more than 600 digital images capturing life in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Documenting nearly two decades of the city’s culture, history, and communities, this collection offers a perspective on the District’s transformation, with contributions from local photographers who have documented the region’s story.

The Exposed DC Photography Collection originated as part of DCist, a local news site, and has since grown into a photography exhibition showcasing life in the nation’s capital. The collection draws from 18 annual Exposed DC exhibitions, featuring images that capture the city’s street life, cultural events, architecture, and political moments – from famous landmarks to ordinary scenes that define life in the District. Now managed by Exposed DC, a nonprofit documenting D.C. through photography, the collection’s new home at the DC Public Library will help preserve it and make it accessible for future generations.

“The Exposed DC Photography Collection is a vivid tapestry of our city’s recent history,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of the DC Public Library. “By integrating its collection into the People’s Archive, we’re ensuring that this valuable record of District life is preserved and accessible to all. We are grateful to Exposed DC for their partnership in bringing these images to the public.”

“The local photographers in the Exposed DC community have been sharing their perspective on life in the District for nearly two decades,” said Heather Goss, founder of Exposed DC. “We are so honored to see it officially become part of our historical record through the DC Public Library.”

The Library’s People’s Archive will manage the project, working in partnership with Exposed DC to secure the collection by the end of 2024. The collection will be made available to the public through the DC Public Library’s Dig DC portal, providing community members and researchers an opportunity to explore a visual record of D.C.’s evolution. The collection will be integrated into Dig DC in phases. Highlights will be featured in a series of public releases—such as images related to local elections and notable political events—to coincide with major moments in the city’s history.

As Exposed DC and the DC Public Library continue their collaboration, both organizations aim to use the archive to connect with the community. Plans include social media promotion, newsletter updates, and an event in Spring 2025 to celebrate the collection’s completion and availability online.

For more information about the Exposed DC Photography Collection and upcoming events related to the project, visit https://digdc.dclibrary.org/.

Friday Links: July 26, 2024

July 26, 2024 By Matthew Holubecki

Join us tonight from 5-8 p.m. at Fathom Gallery Georgetown for the closing of our annual photography show. It’s your last chance to view the exhibition; come on the earlier side if you haven’t seen the show yet. We’ll have exhibition programs for sale along with the beautiful, framed exhibit photographs that we promise will look great on your wall, too. Thank you once again to everyone who made this year’s show a success!

See powerful portraits by one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century in Gordon Parks’ exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, featuring 25 portraits he made between 1941 and 1970 mostly from the Corcoran Collection.
Head to Freedom Plaza tomorrow at 5 p.m. for this month’s StreetMeetDC get together.
Robert Miller has been promoted to Director of Photography at The Washington Post.
Support Critical Exposure with Jeni’s Ice Cream through the end of the month! Every pint purchased at Jeni’s 14th St NW location will earn $2 for Critical Exposure; mention Critical Exposure at checkout or use code CriticalExposure for pickup or delivery orders in the app.
Redeat Wondemu’s Phoenix Series, self portraits created with digital negatives on watercolor paper using the cyanotype method, closes this Sunday at IA&A at Hillyer. Admission is free, $10 suggested donation.
The PROGRESSION fine art photography exhibition at Multiple Exposures Gallery is also closing on Sunday.
Long before artificial intelligence, photographers altered images to burnish the reputations of politicians—from Lincoln to Stalin.
An exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art focuses on the first century of advertising photography in the United States and Europe, capturing the evolution of photographic depiction over time.
Join Capital Photography Center on August 4 at the Renwick Gallery to learn creative photo techniques using perspective, depth of field, focus, and subject isolation while exploring various styles of art.

Friday Links: July 19, 2024

July 19, 2024 By Matthew Holubecki

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of the 2024 Exposed DC Photography Show! In case you missed it, there’s a recap on our website with some photos of the evening, documented by Mariah Miranda. If you’d like to provide feedback on the opening, you can complete this brief survey. The exhibit is open today at Fathom Gallery Georgetown from 5-8 p.m. and the rest of the weekend from noon to 5 p.m. Come by and say hello! The show closes next Friday, July 26.

Join us tomorrow from 2:30-5:00 p.m. at our exhibition for the CPC Social where you can meet Capital Photography Center (CPC) instructors, find out about classes available, and even win a $100 CPC gift certificate.
One of our Best in Show judges has an exhibition opening next week. Jada Imani M’s INFINITY & Beyond, curated by Khaleelah I. L. Harris, will open on Thursday, July 25 at Arena Social DC with a reception from 7-10 p.m.! Registration is free here.
A new exhibition at the National Building Museum reimagines the city’s sometimes loved, often hated brutalist concrete giants. Admission is $10; $7 for seniors, students, and kids; free for members and children under 3.
Multiple Exposures Gallery is holding a membership information session on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. as they anticipate two openings for membership later this year.
A team of imaging experts, scientists and historians set sail for the Titanic last week to gather the most detailed photographic record ever made of the wreck.
An architectural photographer and an architect collaborated for two years on a project that pairs every European Car of the Year of the past 60 years with a building of the same vintage.

Thank You for Celebrating the Opening of the 18th Annual Exposed DC Photography Show!

July 13, 2024 By exposeddc

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Photos by Mariah Miranda Photography

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last night for the opening of the 18th Annual Exposed DC Photography Show! We were thrilled to see you all, and we hope you enjoyed the celebration and the 42 images in the exhibit that showcase life in the Washington, D.C. metro area by the people who live, work, and love here. If you’d like to share feedback on the event and exhibition, we invite you to complete this survey.

In addition to exhibit hours, we also hosted two special events. On Sunday, July 14, exhibiting photographer Mac Cosgrove-Davies created custom wet plate portraits during a tintype demonstration. On Saturday, July 20, we held a social with Capital Photography Center (CPC) where people could meet instructors, find out about workshops and classes, and win a $100 CPC gift certificate.

If you’d like to purchase any of the photos on display, you can do so here. At the exhibit, you can scan the QR code on a title card to go directly to the page where you can buy that image! A collectible exhibition program is also available for purchase online or at the gallery during exhibit hours.

Special thanks to Fathom Gallery Georgetown for hosting our exhibition in their beautiful space and to our sponsors for their support: the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Aperturent, Capital Photography Center, and Topo Chico. Thank you to Kendall Spink for sharing her graphic design expertise in preparing our beautiful exhibition program, our wonderful group of volunteers who make sure the event goes off without a hitch, and to our official event photographer, Mariah Miranda, who always captures the joy of our opening celebrations so beautifully! You can view the full set of images in this online gallery. We are ever grateful to this incredible photography community for their support of one another and Exposed DC.

The exhibit will be on view through Friday, July 26 during the following hours. Admission is free. A virtual gallery is also available for online viewing with additional information about the photographs and links to where you can view more of the photographers’ work. Be sure to turn your audio on to hear about some of the images from the photographers themselves as well!

Exhibit Hours
Thursday & Friday: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.

Fathom Gallery Georgetown
1351 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007

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2024 Best in Show Winner: David Moss

July 11, 2024 By exposeddc

The 2024 Exposed DC Photography Show opens tomorrow night! Please join us on Friday, July 12 from 5-8 p.m. for the opening reception at Fathom Gallery Georgetown at 1351 Wisconsin Ave NW. Tickets are $15 in advance (available until midnight tonight) and will be $20 at the door.

In the days leading up to the show opening, we’ve been announcing this year’s Best in Show winners. Each of these images was chosen by one of our guest judges—five distinguished photographers with ties to Washington, D.C. The winning photographers each receive a $100 cash prize along with the Best in Show distinction. This year’s awards are sponsored by Aperturent.

Congratulations to David Moss whose photo, “Fog Head” was selected by Pete Souza.

You can view more of David’s work on his website and Instagram.

About the Judge

Pete Souza is a best-selling author, speaker, and freelance photographer based in Peoria, Illinois. For all eight years of the Obama administration, Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer and the Director of the White House Photo Office. He is also Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Ohio University.

His book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, was published by Little, Brown & Company in 2017, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list. It is one of the best-selling photography books of all time.

Based on his best-selling books, Souza became the subject of the documentary film, The Way I See It, in November 2020. Directed by Dawn Porter–and produced by Porter, Laura Dern, Evan Hayes, and Jayme Lemons–the film takes an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through Souza’s eyes and camera.

Souza was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in 2021.

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