Nancy J. Ori of Berkeley Heights, well-known photographer, author, and educator received a 2022 HEART GRANT from the Union County Board of County Commissioners to do photography at approximately 35 local historical sites and to create a digital presentation.
She has spent months researching and photographing the numerous exteriors and interiors. Her artistic selection of subject matter was determined by the best summary of images to depict the lifestyle of the people who lived throughout the County during the different time periods in our history from the early farms, through the Revolutionary War, and to the present.
This new project (History, Education and Arts, Reaching Thousands) will be presented online through a Zoom lecture on Oct. 13th at 7-8:30pm.
It will be an introduction to the Four Centuries in a Weekend events taking place from Oct. 15-16 2022, and will include images to highlight the important story of Union County in chronological order. This online lecture will be live and offer the viewers an opportunity to ask questions about the sites and details about the photography. Contact the Plainfield Library or Nancy Ori to get the Zoom link. The online presentation is free and open to the public.
In 2000, Ori received a similar grant to create an exhibition of photography from the Four Centuries locations. Those images will be featured at the Plainfield Library gallery from Oct. 15, 2022 – March 11, 2023. The 2022 grant is an update to this previous project and includes new locations that have been added to the list of Four Centuries in a Weekend sites since 2000.
This large body of work provides a balance of images between the architecture, furniture, costumes, and artifacts of by-gone eras to reflect those who lived, worked, and played in Union County at earlier times. Ori refers to these images as “portraits” of architecture and artifacts. Some images are romantic in style and provide a contrast to the playful depictions of antique dolls and toys, some are bold forms of tools and objects presented almost as sculptures, and some are composed room set ups or still lifes done by Nancy to provide more formal and artistic imagery. There will be a ‘meet-the-artist’ lecture with Nancy on March 4, 2023, at the library, 800 Park Ave in Plainfield, NJ 908-757-1111 (details TBD).
“Since 1970, I have traveled throughout the world working on various photographic and video projects which has given me the opportunity to explore many popular and cherished places. It didn’t take long for me to see that right here in my own back yard are wonderful sites to photograph and images to share. I proposed both grant projects in order to best volunteer my skills to benefit my community and have since been inspired by not only the interesting subject matter and history of New Jersey, but also by the many dedicated volunteers I have met while doing my research and photographing the sites over the years.”
Popular locations such as Liberty Hall in Union, the Ashbrook Reservation and Nature Trail in Scotch Plains, and the Drake House Museum in Plainfield, as well as the smaller historical sites of the Woodruff House/Eaton Store Museum in Hillside and the Carter House in Summit are only a few of the locations featured in Ori’s exhibit as well as the Zoom presentation.
Nancy Ori enjoys teaching photography classes and workshops each year throughout the United States and Europe. In 1995, she founded the New Jersey Photography Forum, a group of professional and very serious amateur photographers who get together monthly to critique each other’s work and exhibit together, both online and at the art center in Summit. Under Nancy’s direction, the NJPF has grown to be the largest group of fine art exhibiting photographers in the Metro Area. (www.njphotoforum.com)