By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
Wherever you may wander this summer, there seems to be photography. Indoors and outdoors, come explore the visual riches New England has to offer this July and August. As always, our listings are arranged geographically for your planning convenience. And we encourage you to visit us all summer long, as we update and add exhibits and events frequently.
BOSTON PROPER
“Young girl on a park bench, Boston Common” 1974, from the series Bostonians by Constantine Manos, Boston Athenaeum Purchase; Howe Fund; December 16, 2020.
Boston Athenaeum (BA) – In 1974, Constantine Manos (1935-2025) was commissioned to create documentary photographs for the Where’s Boston? Bicentennial exhibition to take place in 1976. His dynamic black and white photographs offer glimpses of public gatherings and private moments—protests, parades, flea markets, diners, and games— from every corner of the city and its diverse cultures. To celebrate our 250th anniversary, the BA is presenting a Manos retrospective, Where’s Boston? 50 Years Later, that not only recalls the era of Boston’s Bicentennial, but asks viewers from the communities he photographed to come forward with their stories and perhaps even identification of the people in Manos’ photographs. Not only a trip down Memory Lane but a quest to connect the past to the present. On view in the Norma Jean Calderwood Gallery through December 15th 2026.
NOTE: Thursday, July 9th is Discovery Day, with free admission from 9:00am – 7:00pm.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/constantine-manos-photography-show-wheres-boston-50-years-later-at-boston-athenaeum/
For more information, go to: https://bostonathenaeum.org/whats-on/exhibitions/50-years-later-wheres-boston/
“New York” by Helen Levitt (American, 1913–2009), 1976, printed 1993, Photograph, dye transfer color print. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund, © Helen Levitt Film Documents LLC. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – “Faces in the Crowd: Street Photography” presents a five-decade global slice of street photography that brings us up to the present. This gem-like show features the images of twenty-five photographers drawn from the museum’s collection. Their viewpoints illuminate individual and collective responses to socio-political changes, but also the ways in which people’s attitudes and gestures remain familiar over time. On view in the Herb Ritts Gallery through July 13th, 2026.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/faces-in-the-crowd-street-photography-at-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/
For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/faces-in-the-crowd-street-photography
“Fazendo a América: Rosângela Rennó and Histories of Memory and Migration in Brazil” exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. installation photograph courtesy of © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Also on view at MFA, Boston – Fazendo a América (Making America), a solo show featuring the work of Brazilian artist Rosângela Rennó (b. 1962). Using images from private and public archives as well as anonymous photographs, she creates immersive installations that reframe history and memory, provoking questions about how photography affects narratives of Latin American political unrest and military dictatorships. The exhibit also includes Rennó’s MFA-commissioned portraits of Brazilian immigrants to the U.S., illuminating the role photographs play in preserving and connecting histories that may be forgotten or overlooked. On view through August 2nd, 2026.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/fazendo-a-america-making-america-rosangela-renno-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/
For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/fazendo-a-america
“Arlington Street, 1988” from the Living With AIDS project by Salvatore Lopes, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.
Leica Gallery Boston – Photographer Salvatore Lopes’s “Living With AIDS” links three documentary projects he made between 1988 – 1992 exploring how the city of Boston was affected at the beginning of the AIDS crisis: the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt (above); the Buddy Program, sponsored by the AIDS Action Committee of MA; and the Boyce family, whose adopted daughter was living with AIDS. On view through August 9th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://leicagalleryboston.com/gallery-events/
“100 Boots” 1971-73, by Eleanor Antin, courtesy of the artist and Krakow Witkin Gallery, Boston.
Krakow Witkin Gallery – As part of their One Wall, One Work series, the gallery presents Eleanor Antin’s “100 Boots,” a piece she produced between 1971-1973 as an irreverent response to the Vietnam War. She staged imaginary travels of 50 pairs of military surplus boots, printed and titled a postcard for each episode, then mailed them across the country and around the world at irregular intervals. The gallery is showing a complete set of all 51 postcards, mailed to the same individual, on view through July 17th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://www.krakowwitkingallery.com/exhibition/one-wall-one-work-eleanor-antin/
“Big Old Elm (departed), Back Bay, Boston, MA” by Bruce Myren, 2023, courtesy of the artist.
The Scollay Square Gallery at Boston City Hall – Trees play an enormous role in our environment, not just ecologically, but metaphorically and spiritually. Bruce Myren’s reverence for them is manifested in his project “Return of the Elms.” It is included in Learning From Trees curated by Martina Tanga which also features painter Joel Janowitz and the artist collective known as just practice. On view through August 14th, 2026.
For more information: https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/scollay-square-gallery
“Geneva Cliffs Urban Wild (Dorchester)” by Lisa McCarty, courtesy of the artist. Hidden among Roxbury Puddingstone, the state rock of Massachusetts, an aster grows precariously in a patch of sunlight.
The Mayor’s Neighborhood Gallery (City Hall, 2nd Floor) – For her solo exhibition, “Boston Urban Wilds: Celebrating 50 Years of Conservation and Community,” Lisa McCarty photographed nineteen Urban Wilds and numerous community outreach events over the course of two years, picturing areas of “ecological significance” scattered across Boston neighborhoods that have been protected by the Boston Urban Wilds program, as well as the people who care for, utilize, and cherish these wilds. On view through August 14th, 2026, there will be a Reception with the artist on Thursday, July 30th from 5:00 – 7:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/mayors-neighborhood-gallery
“Many Planets with Stars” by Marky Kauffmann, from The Celestial Project, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.
Panopticon Gallery, Kenmore Square – At a time when the boundaries of exploration are expanding once again, Moonage Daydream features four photographers who ponder both physical and metaphysical aspects of outer space. Cassandra Klos, Bill Finger, Molly Lamb and Marky Kauffmann (above) bring their diverse approaches together in a questioning exhibition. On view through July 31st, 2026.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/moonage-daydream-marky-kauffmann-molly-lamb-bill-finger-cassandra-klos-at-panopticon-gallery-boston-ma/
For more information, go to: https://www.panopticongallery.com/
From the series From Shadows to Light: A Global Journey Through the Aftermath of Trafficking by Matilde Simas, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Griffin Museum at Lafayette City Center (LCC) – In her solo show, From Shadows to Light: A Global Journey Through the Aftermath of Trafficking, Matilde Simas’ empathic portraits of survivors of sex trafficking, forced labor, and forced marriage connect viewers to lives we rarely encounter. From Kenya and Uganda to the Philippines and the United States, Simas’ portraits challenge misconceptions about human trafficking, focussing on the courage, endurance and renewal of its survivors. On view through September 27th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/matilde-simas-from-shadows-to-light-a-global-journey-through-the-aftermath-of-trafficking/
SOWA – Boston’s South End Arts District
Installation view of Where Do I Go? at The Project Space by Rania Matar, courtesy of the artist, Robert Klein Gallery and SEA-DAR.
The Project Space – As unremitting attacks on Lebanon persist, Lebanese-American photographer Rania Matar’s solo exhibit Where Do I Go? rings timely and profound, nuanced and declarative. Her arresting, collaborative environmental portraits of young Lebanese women (facing circumstances similar to Matar’s during the Lebanese Civil War 50 years ago) embody remarkable grace and strength as they struggle to find a way forward. This new collaborative project space co-created by RKG and SEA-DAR presents Where Do I Go? as its inaugural exhibition, featuring an expanded selection of images from Matar’s book and recent exhibit at Leica Gallery Boston. Located at 580 Harrison Avenue, 4th Floor, the exhibit will be on view through September 19th, 2026.
To read our review of this work at Leica Gallery Boston, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/rania-matar-where-do-i-go-photo-exhibit-at-leica-gallery-boston-and-book-from-kaph/
For more information, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/exhibitions/
“I Will Always Support You” from the series The Ties That Bind Us by Sonya Tanae Fort, courtesy of the artist and ShowUp Gallery, Boston.
ShowUp Gallery – Sonya Tanae Fort’s solo show, The Ties That Bind Us, is part of the ShowUp Gallery’s “Roll Call” series featuring four pop-up show rotations throughout the summer. Fort’s exceptional and uplifting B&W images give expression to the emotional family connections that inevitably shape who we become. Her embrace of a kinder, gentler world succeeds both as a personal passion and universal aspiration. On view from July 30th – August 9th, 2026, there will be an Opening Reception on Thursday, July 30th from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.showupinc.org/roll-call
CAMBRIDGE, SOMERVILLE and WATERTOWN
From the series Book of Saints by Kristen Joy Emack, courtesy of the artist.
Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge – As the City of Cambridge continues to gentrify, exacerbating the gap in income disparities, Kristen Joy Emack offers her project Book of Saints, a saint being, “by definition, an ordinary person who lives a courageous and good life, and because of this, is worthy of imitation.” Emack’s sensitive portraits are a tribute to the everyday people and landscapes now facing a threatening line between belonging and longing. On view July 6th – August 21st, 2026, there will be an Opening Reception with the artist on Thursday, July 9th at 6:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://multiculturalartscenter.org/book-of-saint/
“The Mother of Tabriz: Tabriz | December 1911–October 1917” by Azadeh Akhlaghi, courtesy of the artist and the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. © Azadeh Akhlagi
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge – In her solo exhibition, From Iran: A Visual Testimony, Azadeh Akhlaghi, Iranian photographer, filmmaker and 2019 Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography, stages grand scenarios that imagine and reconstruct eleven pivotal incidents that highlight the cycle of successful and failed efforts by Iranians to reclaim control of their country between 1908—when the Shah quashed the first National Assembly—and 1979, when the monarchy was overthrown and Islamic rule began. In reconstructing events that were never photographed, Akhlaghi questions “the authority of images and the ways collective memory is shaped through absence as much as through evidence.” On view through March 21, 2027.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/azadeh-akhlaghi-from-iran-visual-testimony-at-harvard-peabody-museum-of-archeology-and-ethnology-cambridge-ma/
For more information, go to: https://peabody.harvard.edu/iran-visual-testimony
“Bobby Jones’ Driver” 1938, by Harold “Doc” Edgerton. © MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.
MIT Museum, Cambridge – “Freezing Time: Edgerton and the Beauty of the Machine Age” offers a retrospective of breathtaking photographs created by MIT scientist and researcher Harold ”Doc” Edgerton, who combined the stroboscope and the high-speed flash into vital tools for the analysis of high-speed movement in the 1930’s. On view through October 8th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/exhibitions/freezing-time-edgerton-and-the-beauty-of-the-machine-age
Photographic Resource Center, Cambridge – In conjunction with the group Behind VA Shadows, the gallery presents “The Soul Selects Their Own Society,” co-curated by Yolanda He Yang and Shelby Feltoon. Located at the corner of Mass Ave. and 2 Linden Street, the group exhibition considers “what allows a person to know themselves more deeply, and how private emotional landscapes continue to shape the ways we encounter one another in public life.” On view through July 26th, 2026, there will be a Reception with many of the artists on Friday, July 17th from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.prcboston.org/the-soul-selects-their-own-society/
Joseph Janney Steinmetz, “Untitled (family picnic on beach, Longboat Key, Florida),” 1958 (printed later). Gelatin silver print. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Transfer from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, American Professional Photographers Collection, 4.2002.4. © Estate of Joseph Janney Steinmetz.
Harvard Art Museums (HAM), Cambridge – Remember the good old days? Those post-WWII days often remembered as a time of prosperity, stability, and ease? Drawn from the Harvard Art Museums’ American Professional Photographers Collection, The Way We Never Were examines the role that professional photography played in shaping this halcyon image and brings renewed attention to a vast archive assembled in the 1970s by sociologist and curator Barbara P. Norfleet. These commissioned photographs helped create a shared visual understanding of mid-century American culture, pointing not only to what was included, but also to what was left out of the photographic record. On view from August 29th, 2026 – May 9th, 2027.
For more information, go to: https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6622/the-way-we-never-were-the-american-professional-photographers-collection
The Curated Fridge Summer Show
The Curated Fridge (TCF), Somerville – The Curated Fridge Summer 2026 Show is curated by Rachel Vogel, Assistant Curator at the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, MA. The TCF is equal parts inspired and inspiring, bringing original fine art into the intimacy of a home kitchen. Everyone is welcome to join the Opening Party on Saturday, July 25th from 5:00 – 7:00pm. Feel free to bring a photobook, zine or refreshment you’d like to share to 281 Medford Street.
For more information, go to: https://www.thecuratedfridge.com/
From the series My Armenia by Winslow Martin, courtesy of the artist.
Project Save, Watertown – Photographer Winslow Martin shares his early encounters (1999-2008) of an ongoing 27-year project, My Armenia, in which viewers can discover an inside glimpse of this country’s complexities, conflicts and infectious congeniality through the eyes of an empathetic outsider. On view through August 29th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://www.projectsave.org/events
THE BURBS
From the series “I Want the Sun to Shine on You” by Cassidy Thurber, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
Installation view from “A Thousand Rectangles: On Design and the Expression of Art” by Caleb Cain Marcus, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – The Caroline Harder Scholarship was awarded by Emily Belz and Jennifer McClure to Cassidy Thurber. Her series “I Want the Sun to Shine Down on You” addresses her memories of a difficult childhood with an aim to reflect and better understand her adulthood. Also on view, Caleb Cain Marcus of Luminosity Lab showcases book design in “A Thousand Rectangles: On Design and the Expression of Art,” revealing how books can function as objects that elevate art and photography. Outdoor exhibitions include “Vision(ary) 2026: Raising our Voices” and “Wheaton Mahoney: The Forgotten.” Indoor shows will be on view through July 26th, 2026 and the outdoor exhibits will be on view through September 28th, 2026.
For more information and updated programming: https://griffinmuseum.org
Book by Julia Buteux, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
Also on view at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – The Annual Handmade Photobook exhibition features sixteen artisans juried by Caleb Cain Marcus, on view in the Atelier Gallery through September 6th. The 16th Annual Photobook Exhibition, juried by Karen Davis and Griffin Museum Executive Director Crista Dix, will be on view in the Griffin Gallery through July 26th, 2026.
“Veterans, John Eliot Square, Roxbury, MA” April 1975 by Lou Jones, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
NOTE: Special online exhibit to celebrate America’s 250th birthday: “Where’s Boston? Bicentennial 200” features Lou Jones’ photographs of the vibrant neighborhoods, communities, and institutions that filled Boston’s streets fifty years ago. Enjoy this look back, see what endures and how we’ve changed. On view through August 2nd, 2026: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/loujones_bicentennial200/
(Featured Image) From the series American Lawn Decor by Sandy Hill, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography
“Lind and Mom at the Mississippi River” by Lisa McCord, from the series Rotan Switch, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Rich and EJ in the doorway” by Preston Ganaway, 2014, from the series Remember Me, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography ©Preston Gannaway (GOST, 2023)
Opening later this month at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – The 32nd Annual Member’s Juried Exhibition promises to be a dynamic show that emphasizes the breadth of talent among the museum’s members. Juried by Barbara Tannenbaum, Curator of Photography and Chair, Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the show will feature over sixty artists. Also opening later this month, “Rotan Switch,” Lisa McCord’s documentation of her grandparent’s cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta and Preston Ganaway’s “Remember Me,” her touching long-term portrayal of a boy who lost his mother at the age of four. There will be a member mingle from 4 to 5pm followed by a reception from 5 to 7pm on Friday July 31st. On view through September 6th, 2025.
For more information on all the shows and relate programming: https://griffinmuseum.org
Manuel Goulart (Portuguese, 1866-1946), Studio Portraits. Dry Plate Glass Negative, 5 x 7 in. NBWM 1993.48.19.36.
New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford – The exhibition, Look Pleasant, Please, debuts a collection of archival photographic portraits reflecting historical and cultural changes in New Bedford as it transformed from a whaling town to a textiles center. Over 300 portraits from 1839 to 1900 feature examples of Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, carte-de-visites, cabinet cards, gelatin silver prints and albums. On view through September 7th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://www.whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/look-pleasant-please-early-portrait-photography-in-new-bedford/
CENTRAL & WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
From the exhibition RACE/HUSTLE by Zora J. Murff, courtesy of the artist and MASS MoCa, North Adams, MA.
MASS MoCA, North Adams – Zora J. Murff presents photographs, collages, video and text in RACE/HUSTLE, probing physical, psychological and institutional forms of societal violence. Curated by Terence Washington through MASS MoCA’s Curatorial Exchange Initiative, Murff examines the deleterious effects of institutional racism that have been visually normalized through history and how they manifest in every day culture. Ongoing.
For more information: https://massmoca.org/event/zora-j-murff-race-hustle/
CAPE COD
UN/Finished at the Workspace Gallery in Eastham, MA.
The Workspace Gallery, Eastham – Un/Finished brings together ongoing projects by four photographers: Sally Bousquet’s Here We Are, features self-portraits reflecting the disconnection that defines much of contemporary life; Edward Boches presents images from Seeking Glory, documenting amateur and professional fighters from the old mill towns north of Boston; Jeff Larason exhibits images from Wandering, B&W photographs exploring light, shadow, and humanity; and Dan Weingrod’s Transitional Spaces focuses on the small worlds that exist among the constructed, repaired, and refined. On view through July 31st, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://bobkornimaging.com/
ROAD TRIP!
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Art, (RIPCA) Providence – Juried by Lou Jones, Hiding in Plain Sight asks viewers to look closely and offers reflections on what we value and choose to remember. With intriguing viewpoints, along with instances of humor and irony, Jones selected 86 images from over 800 entries, hoping to leave viewers with more questions than answers. On view through July 10th,
For more information: https://www.riphotocenter.org
Courtesy of the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Art.
Opening later in July at RIPCA, Providence – Crista Dix served as juror for the 12th Annual International call for photography to showcase a broad selection of contemporary photography from around the world. Opening reception from 5 to 8pm on July 16th and on view through August 15th, 2026.
For more information: https://www.riphotocenter.org
New Hampshire
“Cal, Elkhorn, Wisconsin” by Danny Lyon, 1966, from the portfolio The Bikeriders, On Loan from the Collection of Joseph and Susan Fiorenzo, © Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos.
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester- A summer of photography is on tap! Danny Lyon’s The Bikeriders features sixteen works from Lyon’s time as a member of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Also on view, Together, Apart, Away: Snapshots from the Peter Cohen Collection brings together 450 evocative and humanistic moments that are revealed through these familiar and naive artifacts. On view through August 16th, 2026.
For more information: https://www.currier.org
Snapshot from the Peter Cohen Collection, courtesy of the Currier Museum of Art.
Maine
“Goldenrod, Amenia NY” by Eve Biddle, 2024, screen print on oval panel, museum purchase with the support of the Irving B. Ellis Fund, courtesy of the artist and the Portland Museum of Art. (Image via Petegorsky/Gipe Photo) © Eve Biddle
Portland Museum of Art, Portland – Eve Biddle: Wonderlands features the work of a Wassaic and Brooklyn-based artist who employs sculpture, installation and lens based media to probe the environment. The artist gathers materials such as rocks, kelp or sticks and translates them through photography and printmaking to consider a sense of place and memory. On view view from July 31st, through January 27th, 2027.
For more information: https://www.portlandmuseum.org/exhibitions/wonderlands-eve-biddle/
“I am not in danger” by Jan Pieter van Voorst, courtesy of the artist and the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts.
Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland – To celebrate their recent move and re-opening, the museum presents two shows, Of Home and Place and Looking at You. The first features images that are intimate while the second is a collection of street photographs. Both shows on view through August 1st, 2026
For more information: https://www.mainemuseumofphotographicarts.org
“Home at Sea” by Jeffrey C. Becton, courtesy of the artist and the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts.
From the series and book American Motorcycling Culture by Jack Lueders Booth, courtesy of the artist and Gravedigger’s Daughter Gallery, Waldoboro, Maine.
Gravedigger’s Daughter Gallery, Waldoboro – Jack Lueders Booth, cultural photographer and lifelong motorcycling enthusiast, is featured in the solo show, American Motorcycling Culture, an insider’s candid views of the rough and tumble lives of riders drawn to the freedom of the open road, the thrill of the racetrack or the cool of an outsider’s club, in images from 1980-2000. On view through July 18th, 2026.
For more information, go to: https://www.gravediggersdaughter.org/
Vermont
“Fringe Tree” by Diane Hemingway, courtesy of the artist and the Vermont Center for Photography.
Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro – The collective known as Memory is a Verb travels to the Green Mountain state with images that evoke the transient nature of memory and time. The collective was formed during the pandemic, and includes photographers Aline Smithson, Annette LeMay Burke, Dena Eber, Diane Hemingway, Elizabeth Bailey, Jennifer Pritchard, Lori Ordover, Rosalie Rosenthal, Sarah Hadley and Susan Lapides. Opens with a reception on July 3rd from 5 to 8pm, and will close with an artist panel and discussion on Sunday, August 30th, 2026 at 5:30pm.
For more information, go to: https://vcphoto.org/
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
