FRANK Gallery’s photography exhibition “Beyond the Classroom” will be the first stop on the CLICK! Bus Tour on Oct. 3. The exhibition showcases the work of lifelong educators and learners of photography.
Barbara Tyroler, a FRANK artist and teacher at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, curated the exhibition. It features the work of her students, as well as works by guest artist Diana Bloomfield, a local photographer, and two of her former students.
“Beyond the Classroom” will be housed in the FRANK Community Outreach Gallery, an extension of FRANK Gallery. The Community Outreach Gallery is part of FRANK’s mission to enrich the community through art.
“We really want to be an approachable art gallery and be able to teach the community about art in a way that’s non-intimidating,” said FRANK Gallery Manager Natalie Knox.
The exhibition will showcase a wide range of photography. Some is socially oriented, such as Tony LaVopa’s work with a boxing program for at-risk youth. LaVopa, one of Tyroler’s students, learned how to photograph in low light and to convert images from color to black and white. This exhibition will be the first time he has shown these sets, and he said he is excited to see what people think.
Others are more personal, such as Chris Krueger’s work, which focuses on his home and family. This exhibition will be the first time Krueger displays his photography.
Knox said FRANK Community Gallery and the CLICK! Bus Tour aim to engage the local community with photography.
“What we’re doing is providing an opportunity for the community to access photographers,” Nerys Levy, a member artist in charge of outreach and education for FRANK, said.
The CLICK! Bus Tour, which made its debut last year, is part of the Triangle's CLICK! Photography Festival. The festival takes place through October and includes 85 events at more than 45 venues.