Program in Historic Downtown Wilson, NC
The 9th Edition has ended, the 10th Anniversary Edition will launch on June 1, 2024
The 1st Walk & The Party
The Party for our Sponsors
Guests and photographers from around the World will join us to make this an unforgettable happening.
The House of Jérôme & Rosa De Perlinghi; Friday, June 2, 2023 at 6.30 PM
By invitation only, inquiries must be sent to eyesonmainstreetinc@gmail.com
The Walk
Join us for a 90 minutes walk around the 100 new photographs of the 9th Edition on Saturday, June 3 at 4.30PM meeting in front of our American Center for Photographers (ACP), 230 Goldsboro Street S, Wilson, NC 27893. Up to 25 photographers will walk with us and share their experience with you.
The Lectures
-Grace Ekpu, Saturday, June 3, 2023, 10 AM; Location: Imagination Station, 224 Nash Street East, Wilson, NC 27893
Grace Ekpu is a Nigerian photographer and filmmaker based in Lagos. Ekpu works on socially-driven stories with a unique and intimate approach rarely seen in contemporary photography. Ekpu regularly produces stories that address pressing social issues, everyday life in areas often misrepresented by traditional media, and solution-driven journalism. Ekpu has shown work at internationally recognized galleries, been published widely in digital and print form, and covered assignments for major media organizations and non-governmental organizations including Plan International, Action Aid, and the British Red Cross. Ekpu is a VII Photo Agency mentee.
-Peter Caton, Journey with no End; Saturday June 3, 2023, 2 PM, Location: Imagination Station, 224 Nash Street E, Wilson, NC 27893
Peter Caton has lived out of a suitcase for the past 20 years and travelled to over 80 countries photographing natural disasters with his digital H5D 50c Hasselblad as his only companion. From droughts to floods, and from cyclones to desertic refugee camps, Peter’s documentary photography captures the life of those who live at the frontline of the climate crisis. His work on Cyclone Sidr in the Sundarbans region of India was exhibited in London in partnership with Greenpeace to shed light on the struggle of climate refugees. His work on Brazil’s Cerrado, the most biodiverse savannah in the world, was exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in Brasilia where it brought to light the damage that agribusiness and monoculture is causing to the environment and tribes. In Milan, Peter’s work on organic farming around the world was exhibited outdoors. Unable to return to the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic, he photographed the floods of South Sudan that have displaced hundreds of thousands. His work has been widely praised, awarded, and published by top news outlets around the world.
-Raffaele Petralla, Living on Bombs, Sunday June 4, 2023, 11 AM; Location: Imagination Station, Nash Street E, Wilson, NC 27893
Raffaele Petra;lla is a documentary photographer and photography teacher. His research is mainly focused on social and anthropological issues. His works have been published in major international magazines including: the New York Times, National Geographic, GEO, Bloomberg, the Washington Post, The New Yorker, Internazionale, L'Espresso, Days Japan, CNN photos, Der Spiegel, D La Repubblica, De Morgen, and VICE, among others. Petralla has received many international awards and nominees including: PDN Storytellers, Burn Emerging Fund, Ethical Photography Award, Voglino Award, Lugano Photo Days, Verzasca Foto Festival, New Visions COTM, Kolga Tbilisi, Best Author - Portfolio Italia 2019. Since 2015, he has been a member of the Prospekt Photographers agency. He is author of the book Mari El, A Pagan Beauty published by Voglino Editrice.
Lectures are free but reservations by email are strongly recommended: eyesonmainstreetinc@gmail.com
Eyes on Main Street Galleries: The American Center for Photographers
-ACP Gallery, Goldsboro is located at 230 Goldsboro Street S, Wilson, NC 27893 (across the Whirligig Park)
To Access ACP Website: Click Here
+The Residency Exhibition will launch on June 1, 2023. The 5th year of the program saw a record number of applicants. Photographers from around the world came to Wilson, NC, USA, each for one month to photograph all segments of our community. The results are very impressive; with the work of Kalel Koven, Freya Maes, Rodrigo Paredes, Meg Hewitt, Andrejs Strojkins, Simon Vansteenwinckel, Marc Chaumeil, Chau Cuong Lê and Peter Bialobrzeski.
Meg Hewitt, Australian, Wilson, NC, USA, October 2022
+Living on Bombs, the exhibition of the recipient of our 5th Reportage Grant, Raffaele Petralla, will launch on June 1, 2023
Remains of the Secret War in Laos
I started this project in Laos between November and December 2019 with the aim of documenting the remains of what was called the "Secret War" (1964-1973).
I met the NGO MAG which works to reclaim the area strewn with bombs. I met the members of an association that do its utmost to raise funds and handcraft prosthetics for the thousands of people who need them, and I have been to some villages where bombs are recycled. Working on the field, while exploring and interviewing Laotians, I discovered the existence of dozens of large caves which were not only a refuge but also a home for thousands of Laotians, even in the years following the war. Some became hospitals and schools.
Doing my research, even consulting some documents desecretised (made public) by the CIA, I discovered the existence of numerous secret bases and airports used by the American army during the war.
I went back to deepen the theme with portraits and interviews with members of the MAG team; injured victims of unexploded bombs, manufacturers of handmade prostheses and families who base their economy on the production and sale of objects obtained from the recycling of unexploded bombs.
I was able to photograph the villages inhabited by Hmong, the ethnic group that fought backed by the U.S. Army. Even today, the part of the ethnic group that has not managed to flee to the United States lives in a climate of tension with the Laotian government which has been in power since the end of the war.
Opening Hours are Wednesday, Friday Saturday from 11 AM to 5 PM; Thursday from 11 AM to 7.30 PM, Sunday from 11 AM to 3 PM
Both exhibitions will run until July 30, 2023
International Partnerships
See the video link on the photograph above
France
The 100 photographs of the 8th Edition will be on display in an outdoor festival at Les Focales de Bretagne Sud in Etel, Brittany, France.
The launch will be on June 30, 2023. Christian-Jacques Bourgeon, President of Les Focales, kindly invited our festival for this new collaboration. It is the first time that all 100 photographs of one of our editions will travel abroad. Website link will be added soon.
Aun Raza, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
China
A new partnership is in the works, the program will be announced soon
South Korea
Eyes on Main Street will be for a 5th year a partner of the Jeonju International Photography Festival in South Korea, in early October 2023. A selection of 20 images from our 9th Edition will be on display in South Korea, the photographs will be printed on large panels, sized 180X180 CM (72X72 Inch). . This is the 15th Edition of this festival).
Malaysia
Eyes on Main Street will be in August 2023 a partner of the Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival, in Malaysia, for a 8th consecutive year. The program will be announced soon.
Jérôme De Perlinghi,
Artistic Director
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