FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 15, 2024
Photographs give voice to Black Cincinnati in FotoFocus exhibition at Cincinnati Museum Center
Lens of History, curated by Toilynn O’Neal Turner, features over 200 historic and contemporary photographs
CINCINNATI – A new exhibition at Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) is proving a picture can be worth much more than a thousand words; a picture can hold within it part of a community’s identity.
Curated by Toilynn O’Neal Turner and on display now at Cincinnati Museum Center, Lens of History: A Celebration of People, Spaces and Emotions explores the rich tapestry of Black history in Cincinnati through the lens of Black photographers and community photo collections from the 1800s to the 2000s. The exhibition is part of the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial.
The 2024 FotoFocus Biennial is the largest of its kind in America, featuring 108 projects presented at 87 venues across museums, galleries, universities and public spaces in Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Northern Kentucky.
Lens of History uses over 200 photographs to showcase the often overlooked and sometimes unseen contributions and experiences of Black individuals and communities throughout the city’s history. As urbanization, redlining and rising housing costs have destroyed or diminished places of significance in historically Black neighborhoods, photographs have cemented those people, spaces and emotions that made these places home. Those photographs preserve communities and nourish identities.
Lens of History invites guests to weave their own stories with those of the past and to reflect on stories of Black joy and excellence, struggle and resilience. The vivid, powerful glimpse into the history of Black Cincinnati invites a more inclusive understanding of our city’s past while inspiring essential conversations about its future.
The exhibition features photographs from the collections of CMC alongside those of contemporary artists James Bates II, Ron Blassingame, Jymi Bolden, Ron Clemons, Monsta Dixon, Whitney Dixon, Steven Easley, Butch Gibson, Melvin Grier, Erica Griffin, Robert Harris, Malik Perkins, Larry E. Steele, Lé Thompson, Sylvia Lemon-Woods and Frank D. Young.
Lens of History: A Celebration of People, Spaces and Emotion is open through October 14 at Cincinnati Museum Center.
A generous gift from FotoFocus made this exhibition possible.
Lens of History was curated by Toilynn O’Neal Turner of the Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center (ROMAC) with assistant curator Ryan Leary, a West End community member and in partnership with Arabeth Balasko, Curator of Photographs, Prints and Media at Cincinnati Museum Center. Research assistance was provided by Keloni Key of the West End branch of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library.
Lens of History was made possible, in part, by Ohio Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized, award-winning institution housed in a National Historic Landmark. CMC is a vital community resource that sparks curiosity, inspiration, epiphany and dialogue. CMC was awarded the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2012, one of a select few museums in the nation to receive both honors. Organizations within CMC include the Cincinnati History Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, The Children’s Museum, Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, Cincinnati History Library and Archives and the Geier Collections and Research Center. Housed in historic Union Terminal – a National Historic Landmark restored in 2018 and recognized as the nation’s 45th most important building by the American Institute of Architects – CMC welcomes more than 1.8 million visits annually, making it one of the most visited museums in the country. For more information, visit cincymuseum.org.
