New Visual Arts Show Celebrates History Of Women In New Jersey

In honor of Women's History Month, photographer, educator and author Nancy Ori of Berkeley Heights exhibits "Familiar Voices," at MPAC's Starlight Galley through April 8.

Familiar Voices is a selection of photographs made at several of the historic sites in New Jersey that reveal the life of New Jersey women through time from the Revolutionary War to the 20th Century. This theme is a tribute to the ceaseless work of women and is in recognition of their countless contributions throughout history.

These images provide a balance of impressions between the architecture, furniture, costumes, and artifacts of by-gone eras and reflect the lives of women who lived, worked, and played at earlier times here. Some images are romantic and painterly in style and provide a contrast to the playful depictions of antique dolls and toys that their children would have handled. Some are bold forms of kitchen tools and objects presented almost as sculptures or still life's and some are composed room set ups to provide a more formal and wide view of their simple environment.

"Since 1970, I have traveled throughout the world working on various teaching and photographic projects which has given me the opportunity to explore many popular and cherished places," she said. "I have discovered that right here in my own backyard there are wonderful sites to photograph and images to share. I am especially drawn to the stories of the women in our local history."

Ori obtained a master's degree in Visual Communications from Pratt Institute in NY and worked 25 years for Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharmaceuticals as their in-house photographer and manager of Video and Photographic Services.

She is now the owner of New Jersey Media Center, LLC in Berkeley Heights, where she continues to do product, portrait, and food photography. She also enjoys teaching photography globally as well as exhibiting her fine art photographs. Nancy was taught by Ansel Adams and then affiliated for many years with the Ansel Adams Workshop in California. She is currently on the faculty of several museums and teaches privately.

Often introduced as the "woman in charge of photography in New Jersey," in 1994, Nancy founded the New Jersey Photography Forum, a group of serious professional and amateur photographers. Under her direction, they have become the largest and most recognized group of fine art exhibiting photographers in the state.

Ori's work has been widely collected and exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the globe. She has been awarded numerous grant projects and chosen to participate in hundreds of fine art exhibits including the prestigious New Jersey Fine Arts Annual. Her work is in permanent museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in NY. Along with exhibiting her own work, Ori has curated and juried hundreds of exhibits at a wide variety of venues internationally.

Learn more about her photography tours and local workshops by visiting www.nancyoriworkshops.com or contacting her at nancyoriori@comcast.net. See her books: www.amazon.com/author/nancyori.

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