Harriet Lesser, Director of Exhibitions and Programming, took the time to speak with me about the current exhibit “Photography: Face of the World”. The theme opened up the “world” when the curators realized you didn’t need to physically travel to have a new experience and a “face” is not just someone’s portrait. Every time you take a picture, you show a face of the world – the red glint of a ring at breakfast, a shopkeeper deep in thought, blue bathroom tile in a barren building, and the over-the-shoulder glance of a woman.

Ms. Lesser explained that she would like to encourage artists to detail the techniques used on their photographs, in much the same way a painter will explain all the techniques used with mixed-media. This exhibit welcomes the traditional as well as the medium’s creative possibilities.

Frank Goodyear, Assistant Curator of Photography at the National Portrait Gallery, will speak at VisArts on February 26, 2008 at 6:30 PM. His previously scheduled talk was cancelled due to weather, so you can still hear how the photographs were chosen for this exhibit and ask questions. What a wonderful partnership with NPG!

Each exhibit theme is incorporated throughout VisArts. In the Children’s Discovery Gallery, kids can make a pinhole camera. The Portfolio Gallery features “In Focus”, an exhibit featuring the work of Montgomery County Middle and High School photographers. Their youth finds freshness and fun in life.

Through March 31, 2008.