January 2014: MOA presents Al Norte al Norte Exhibit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Elizabeth Evans

Cahoon & Cross

Phone: (757) 705-7153  

eevans@cahoonandcross.com

Al Norte al Norte Exhibit Shows North Carolina’s Latino Community at Work, Worship and in Celebration

Exhibition runs Jan. 18 through July 5  

at Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, N.C.

(Elizabeth City, N.C., Jan. 8, 2014) -- Fifty-one images of North Carolina’s vibrant Latino community at work, at worship and in celebration is the focus of a photography exhibit, Al Norte al Norte:  Latino Life in North Carolina, opening Jan. 18 at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, N.C. Taken over the course of 10 years by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Jose Galvez, the photographs reveal the diversity and strength of the state’s growing Latino community as they strive for better futures for their families. 

“The exhibit celebrates a culturally rich and diverse community in the first bilingual exhibit presented by a major museum in North Carolina.” says Bill McCrea, director of regional museums at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, where the exhibit premiered. “We all have the opportunity to learn more about our neighbors and the similarities we share by studying these images of work, worship and celebration.”

The presence of a vibrant Latino community in North Carolina is fairly recent, with many families making their homes in the state beginning in the 1980s. Data taken from a 2010 Census shows that more than eight percent of North Carolinians are Latino.

Observing this trend, Galvez, who is himself Mexican-American, moved with his family from Arizona to North Carolina in 2004 to document this emerging population. The resulting exhibit was the North Carolina Museum of History’s first to focus on the state’s Latino community, and also the institution’s first bilingual exhibit. 

With English and Spanish descriptions, Al Norte al Norte features 51 compelling images. From business owners and farm laborers to grandparents and kindergarten graduates, the photographs capture the daily life of Latino North Carolinians. 

The exhibition will be at the Museum of the Albemarle through July 5, 2014. At the opening, Jan. 18, visitors may enjoy a light breakfast beginning at 9:30 a.m. and stay for the ribbon-cutting and exhibit tour at 10 a.m.  

The northeastern regional branch of the North Carolina Museum of History, the Museum of the Albemarle interprets the history of 13 counties in northeastern North Carolina, considered by many to be the birthplace of English America. Admission is free. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information, call (252) 335-1453 or visit at museumofthealbemarle.com and on Facebook.

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Elizabeth City is the “Harbor of Hospitality®”

Elizabeth City is located in Northeastern North Carolina on the Intracoastal Waterway, halfway between Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks. Known as the “Harbor of Hospitality,” the city has six National Register Historic Districts and is home to the Museum of the Albemarle, The Center at Arts of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City State University Planetarium, Port Discover Hands-on Science Center and one of the largest U.S. Coast Guard air stations in the Continental United States. Nature-based travelers are drawn to the area’s proximity to Dismal Swamp and the abundance of outdoor recreational offerings. For additional information, call Elizabeth City Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-866-ECity-4U (1-866-324-8948) or visit DiscoverElizabethCity.com. For up-to-the-minute info on happenings and events visit ElizabethCityHASIt.com.