Sloane Art Library showcases rare photo book collections at the Ackland

UNC students and Triangle locals can explore the Sloane Art Library photo book collection as a part of the Click! Photography Festival. The event is an interactive way to view and talk about photo books that can be found in few other collections. 

The Sloane Art Library, part of the University Libraries, is hosting a pop-up event at the Ackland Art Museum to show a selection of its significant and rare photo books. 

Students can expect to see a carefully selected collection from the entire stock of the Sloane Art Library photography books. Alice Whiteside, head of the Sloane Art Library, said the library is participating in the event to share its collection with a wider audience.

“Given the wonderful array of events around photography, we wanted to highlight this special collection that we have,” Whiteside said. “It will be a selection of items from our artist book collection and our self-published and independently-published photo book collection”. 

The Click! Photography Festival is an annual event that celebrates photography and its far-reaching influences. The festival takes place throughout October across the Triangle area and is in its 6th year. 

Dave Wofford, member of the core committee for the Click! Photography Festival, said students should come to the festival.  

”It’s a tremendous learning opportunity," Wofford said. "There’s a whole lot of great work being shared.”

Allison Portnow Lathrop, director of events at the Ackland, said rare books are being exhibited in this pop-up because they show how art can take on many forms. Attendees can see the versatility through mediums such as art, photo books and film.

This is the first time the Sloane Art Library will host a pop-up event for photobooks. The pop-up event is the second event of the Vernacular Photography Day hosted at the Ackland. Other events of the Vernacular Photography Day include a free digitization of home movies and a conversation between photography collector Robert E. Jackson and Peter Nisbet, the Ackland’s deputy director for curatorial affairs.

Lathrop said that the event is a fun way to connect with the community and celebrate what photography can mean to the individual and to families. 

“I think it’s a really good opportunity to think about how you’re taking care of those films and photos,” Lathrop said. “How you can collect films and photos, and how films and photos can transform into more of an art, or collecting item, like the photo books or the art on view in the show”.

arts@dailytarheel.com