Silver Eye

Photography and historical preservation are interventions that appear to interrupt and stop the action of time. By drawing attention to a particular moment–often before a transformation takes place–these interventions ask us to consider our relationships with the past. How does the legacy of the past inspire the future? How have time and history shaped how we understand ourselves?

We are honored to present these photographs by Hannah Price, made while an African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund Fellow with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Price documented the restoration of historic buildings in the Hill District and Homewood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. These included the August Wilson House, the National Negro Opera Company House, and the New Granada Theater. Whether honoring Black cultural figures or supporting Black centers of creativity, the Trust brings attention to the importance of historical memory and cultural continuity.

Still Standing includes Price’s portraits of people living in the communities around these landmarks today. Where history is honored by the preservation of these buildings, individual and collective memory is shaped by connection to place. These portraits reflect that these structures exist in thriving communities whose heritage inspires the creative life of the Hill District and Homewood now and in the future.

Participating Artist

1. Raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, Hannah Price is a photographic artist and filmmaker primarily interested in documenting relationships, race politics, social perception and misperception. Price is internationally known for her project City of Brotherly Love (2009-2012), a series of photographs of the men who catcalled her on the streets of Philadelphia. In 2014, Price graduated from the Yale School of Art MFA Photography program, receiving the Richard Benson Prize for excellence in photography. Over the past eight years, Price's photos have been displayed in several cities across the United States, with a few residing in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.