Baltimore Museum of Art exhibit explores 185 years of city history through photography

The Baltimore Museum of Art's new exhibit takes you back in time and gives you a different lens on Baltimore City.

'Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography' features more than 200 images produced in Baltimore by 90 artists. It documents 185 years of history with WJZ as a media sponsor.

"It's really a community-centric show," exhibit co-curator Dr. Leslie Cozzi said. "Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography is the first comprehensive survey of the history of photography in Baltimore."

A walk through each exhibit room tells a distinct story, starting with the foundation of the city and the medium of photography.

"That section covers industry, geography, the rowhouses, the architecture of the city," exhibit co-curator Antoinette Roberts said.

You'll even find what's known as the very first photograph ever taken of abolitionist Frederick Douglass years after he escaped slavery.

Dr. Cozzi and Roberts want people to know of Baltimore's impact on the photography world.

"Photography was invented and announced to the world in 1839, and the first photo studio in Baltimore opened in June of 1840," Dr. Cozzi said.

They also want you to understand the style many Baltimore photographers choose.

"Largely, they do it from within [the] community and with [the] community," Roberts said.

For example, artist Devin Allen, featured in the exhibit, shot images while in the middle of protests during the 2015 Baltimore Uprising.

Another artist featured in the show, Cary Beth Cryor, photographed her pregnancy and the delivery of her baby girl in 1978. Roberts said it was no easy task, considering Cryor had to fight with medical staff to get a camera in the delivery room.

"That level of discipline, the steadiness of her hand," she said. "It really illustrates this idea of the camera as a tool of witness of documentation."

Dr. Cozzi hopes this exhibit brings a fresh perspective on the city, "and give a much fuller picture of the humanity and the innovation that lives here and that has always lived here," she said.

The exhibit opens October 4. It ends February 21, 2027.