A photograph of a Black Lives Matter protest taken by Michael Mirabito. An exhibit of his photos on protests will open at the Friedman Art Gallery on Oct. 31.
DALLAS, Pa. — Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Friedman Art Gallery is preparing to open a new exhibit.
“Photography of Protest” by photographer Michael Mirabito will open on Oct. 31 and continue until Dec. 3. The gallery is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mirabito will discuss the photographs for his exhibit on Nov. 12 from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Barry Auditorium of the Nesbitt Academic Commons on the campus of Penn State Wilkes-Barre. This event is open to the public at no charge.
Mirabito is a professor emeritus of the Communication Arts Department at Marywood University. His works include communication technology and space exploration books, articles and grants. For more than 15 years, he has focused on photography, primarily documenting Holocaust and genocide sites, protest marches and related memorial gatherings. It is his goal to help ensure the lessons of the past, both distant and more recent, are not forgotten.
Protests have been an American tradition since the country’s founding. They have continued unabated through the years, including during the 1960s and 1970s Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War marches. Hundreds of thousands of individuals were engaged across the country.
From 2016 through 2020, Mirabito had opportunities to photograph many protests, marches and other events and their participants; these are the main focal points of his exhibit. This project’s goal is not to make a political statement, said Mirabito, but to provide a visual essay of the events and people. The marchers depicted in the photographs are diverse, representing all age and social groups, and include families. The photographs in the exhibit at Penn State Wilkes-Barre are focused mostly on marches in Pennsylvania.
For more information about this and other upcoming exhibits, email [email protected] or call 570-675-9159.
The Friedman Art Gallery was a gift from Sidney and Pauline Friedman. This art gallery space regularly displays the works of students, local artists and private art collections. The gallery strives to promote, encourage and exhibit artworks of professional and amateur artists from the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus and surrounding communities.
