Strange and familiar places at the nelson atkins museum
Featuring new acquisitions on view for the first time, Strange and Familiar Places presents 26 works by 10 contemporary photographers — gallery artists Rahim Fortune, Kristine Potter, and Bryan Schutmaat among them. Each of these artists tell compelling stories about people, communities, and the land they inhabit. Their intimate photographs focus on rural subjects in the Midwest, South, and Western United States, often challenging our preconceptions of these regions.
Great storytelling conveys a sense of place: it is as important as establishing characters, symbolism, and plot. These artists weave together influences from music, fiction, history, folklore, and photography itself to create poetic, lyrical photographs. They use the medium in a variety of ways: some rely on a familiar, documentary style, while others stage or compose their images to invite new, and at times, strange ways of seeing. In all instances, these artists deepen and enrich our understanding of place by emphasizing the humanity of their subjects.
On view at the Nelson Atkins Museum (Kansas City, MO) through July 20, 2025.