Shared Space: The New Era (1987-2010) | Photographs from the Bank of America Collection
MAY 13 - AUG 5, 2023
2nd Floor: The Bob & Lissa Shelley McDowell Gallery

Sze Tsung Nicolás Leong, Causeway Bay 1, Hong Kong, from the series Cities, 2004, printed 2006. Chromogenic print, 1/10. 31 1/8 x 39 1/4 in. Bank of America Collection. © Sze Tsung Nicolás Leong. Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

Shared Space: The New Era (1987–2010) | Photographs from the Bank of America Collection acts as a time capsule, traversing an evolving social landscape through photographs and video created over the span of more than 20 years. The exhibition features 35 images by 23 international artists who explore how the physical spaces in which we interact have evolved alongside our increasing access to a virtual “global village.” The works illustrate the ways in which our homes and backyards, city streets and plazas, ports and airplanes, and urban and rural landscapes have grown into collective spaces through communication avenues such as the World Wide Web and social media, as well as globalization. The images range from depictions of masses of people congregating in public spaces to environments physically transformed by the demands of a global economy. The photographs also illustrate some of the adverse effects of our fast-paced technological age, particularly the impact of humankind’s ever-expanding footprint and the dysfunction and discord that can lurk beneath surfaces. Shared Space is ultimately open-ended, inviting us to reflect upon the exponential growth of our collective “shared space” and imagine the unbounded common areas of our future.

This exhibition was loaned through the Bank of America Art in Our Communities Program. Additional funding generously provided by Margaret and Bill Benjamin.


RELATED PROGRAMS:

Shared Space Gallery Talks
Location: The Bob & Lissa Shelley McDowell Gallery, second floor

Join WAM Director Juliette Bianco and Curator and Head of Collections and Facilities Elaine D. Gustafson for conversations with experts working in architecture, photography, and social justice.

Thursday, May 25 @ 12:15-1pm
Elaine D. Gustafson and MJ Sharp, photographer and former lecturing fellow at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Durham, NC.

Thursday, June 29 @ 12:15-1pm
Juliette Bianco and David Friedman, University Architect and Director of Facilities Design and Construction, UNC Greensboro.

Thursday, August 3 @ 12:15-1pm
Juliette Bianco and Marcia Hale, assistant professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, UNC Greensboro.