The University of Tennessee’s Downtown Gallery will present “Through the Lens of Ed Westcott: A Photographic History of World War II’s Secret City” from June 16-September 3. The exhibit features the only photos that document life in Oak Ridge during the formative years of the Manhattan project.
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Through more than 60 images, Westcott’s photographs not only celebrate his dual role as government documentarian and civilian photojournalist from 1942 to 1959, but also his contributions to the history of photography. Along with serving as the official photographer for the Oak Ridge division of the Manhattan Project, he became the sole photographer of the social and recreational events of a city that grew to more than 75,000 individuals in less than three years. It is only through Westcott’s photographs that the visual history of Oak Ridge can be appreciated and understood.
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The UT Downtown Gallery is located at 106 South Gay Street and is open free to the public Wednesday-Friday, 11-6, and Saturday, 10-3. For more information, visit www.ewing-gallery.org.
This exhibit is being held in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Homecoming which will celebrate our region’s unique heritage and explore its importance in the sweeping changes that accompanied the War era through a variety of art and archival exhibits, lectures, live music and storytelling. For more information on the event, visit www.knoxville.org.