Center for Photography at Woodstock Partners with Magnum Foundation for “Counter Histories” Exhibition
Naomieh Jovin
Magnum Foundation is excited to share that we have partnered with the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) to present an exhibition of work from our ongoing Counter Histories initiative. The exhibition features work by Tamara Abdul Hadi, Alan Chin, Naomieh Jovin, Billy H.C. Kwok, and Qiana Mestrich that investigates personal histories. Using images sourced from family photo albums, books, magazines, and community archives, the artists reassemble layered and open-ended portrayals of place, culture, and community.
This exhibition is coordinated by CPW curator Marina Chao. It will be open at CPW, 474 Broadway, Kingston, on Saturday, March 23, and will continue through May 26, 2024, with an opening reception on March 23 from 5–7 PM.
“We are proud to partner with Magnum Foundation on the important ‘Counter Histories’ exhibition,” said CPW Executive Director Brian Wallis. “This project shows how some of today’s most innovative artists are recasting conventional histories, by directing radical new attention to overlooked archival sources, reclaiming vernacular photographies, and celebrating community-based images and culture.”
Counter Histories is drawn from a 2023 presentation organized by the Magnum Foundation in New York City. It will be accompanied by the Spring 2024 issue of Aperture magazine, “Counter Histories,” produced in collaboration with the Magnum Foundation, and available for sale at the exhibition. Another exhibition, featuring several of the photographers featured in the magazine whose work intervenes in state image archives, will be on view at the Magnum Foundation in New York City from April 3 to June 26.
About the featured projects:
Tamara Abdul Hadi (Canada / Iraq)
Re-Imagining Return to the Marshes
Part archival, part storytelling, and part community engagement, this project asks: can histories be colonized even in imagination?
Alan Chin (United States)
Chinese American Photo Album
A community sourced archive that explores how immigrant families—including Chin’s own—use photography to maintain connections, pass on traditions, and highlight the extraordinary courage, faith, and fortitude in their everyday lives.
Naomieh Jovin (United States)
Gwo Fanm
Exploring archival photos of Jovin’s mother parallel to original works, Jovin emphasizes a spiritual connection between her familial history and present self.
Billy H.C. Kwok (Hong Kong)
For So Many Years When I Close My Eyes
Documenting an archive belonging to Yu Lai Wai-Ling, a mother in search of her autistic son, whose disappearance from Hong Kong in 2000 was national news. The archive includes letters and portraits sent to her by men who claimed to be her lost son.
Qiana Mestrich (United States)
@WorkingWOC: Towards a History of Women of Color in the Workplace
An independent, multimedia archive that visualizes the labor history of Black women and women of color—especially those who are immigrants—in American workplaces.
About the Center for Photography at Woodstock
Founded in 1977, the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) is a not-for-profit arts organization with a two-fold mission: to support artists working in photography and related media; and to engage audiences through creation, discovery, and learning. At the heart of CPW’s mission is programming that is community-based, artist-centered, and collaborative. To foster public conversation around critical issues in photography, CPW provides exhibitions, workshops, artists’ residencies, and access to a digital media lab. In 2022, CPW relocated from Woodstock to 474 Broadway in Kingston. Last year, CPW acquired a 40,000-square-foot factory building at 25 Dederick Street, which is being renovated as its future headquarters, a photography museum, educational and community center.
About the Magnum Foundation
Magnum Foundation expands creativity and diversity in visual storytelling, activating new audiences and ideas through the innovative use of images. Through grant making, mentorship, and creative collaborations, we partner with socially engaged imagemakers exploring new models for storytelling.
Magnum Foundation’s Counter Histories Initiative is supported by The Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support for Counter Histories is provided by The Fledgling Fund, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon/ACLS Early Career Fellowships, the William Talbott Hillman Foundation, and Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
Press Contacts:
Sarah Perlmutter | sarah@magnumfoundation.org
Anna Van Lenten | anna@cpw.org