Views of the South

The Do Good Fund was established in Columbus, Georgia, in 2012 to build a museum-quality collection of contemporary southern photographs, to display them in museums, galleries, and nontraditional venues, and to encourage community–based programming with each exhibition. The collection has grown to almost 500 photos created by 83 artists since World War II and more than a dozen exhibitions from The Do Good Fund have been organized across the south.

In Montgomery, 40-50 images of food and shelter will be displayed at the Museum. The themes of food and shelter apply to everyone, and photographs based on these themes help illustrate the wide range of lifestyles in the South. Also, 10-20 works were on view at the Montgomery Area Council on the Aging, whose mission addresses food insecurity, homelessness, affordable housing, and related concerns. The satellite show exposed the photos to new audiences as The Do Good Fund desires, and they may encourage those viewers to visit the museum to see the larger exhibition. Museum visitors will learn about the smaller shows and the missions of the social service partners—adding relevant perspectives to their perceptions of the photos.

Photographs have a peculiar ability to capture reality. Moreover, photographers typically have an artistic vision for their work. They frame and focus and crop and alter images to express their vision, although that is sometimes lost on viewers who bring their own ideas when they look at art.

A goal of this collaboration is to look at contemporary southern photographs from the perspective of food and shelter, essential necessities of life that are pictured in diverse ways in The Do Good Fund collection.