AUBURN, Ala. – A young girl carefully organizes cutlery behind a coffee shop bar. A postal delivery woman beams through the packages resting against her truck’s window. A bearded man smiles from his perch in his food truck selling Philly cheesesteaks. These and others are portraits of workers who, quietly or otherwise, make Auburn, Auburn, and the juried selections are now on view at The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art as part of a community response to photojournalist Kate Medley’s exhibition, “Thank You Please Come Again.”
Medley visited the Auburn campus and broader community as part of her exhibition of photography documenting the evolution of the American South through the lens of gas stations, convenience stores and quick stops that serve up food—and the people who run them. As part of the museum’s thematic investigation of work guiding this year’s exhibitions, The Jule organized a community response to Medley’s photography, juried by the exhibiting artist. Charged with capturing what work looks like in their communities, the community response features photography selections from the College of Liberal Arts’ BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in University Outreach and the City of Auburn’s East Samford School, encapsulating a cross section of the loveliest village on the plains.
Capturing the essence
“Our young adults were excited to connect with another photographer’s work and perspective,” said Angela Powell, BraveHeart’s program coordinator. “They were immediately inspired by her work, excitedly looking through her tabletop picture book and discussing who they would contact to take pictures of at work.” BraveHeart, a joint outreach program between the Auburn University Social Work Program and First Presbyterian Church of Auburn, provides individuals with disabilities with opportunities for growth in areas such as creative arts exploration. The community response allowed them to further explore photography, thinking about capturing moments that otherwise might go unseen or overlooked in the day-to-day. “They love to capture people’s faces and smiles but this created a space for them to capture another facet of that person’s experiences,” said Powell. “They are learning to not interject themselves into a moment but rather focus on capturing the essence of that moment.”
Medley herself echoed the sentiment. “In my work as a journalist, I’m really trying to get out of the way of the work,” she said, allowing subjects to stand on their own and tell their own story. With her exhibition at The Jule, she nudged the line dividing art and journalism in photography. “I see the difference [between photojournalism and art] as: artists bring, intentionally, great perspective to the work that they’re creating,” Medley said. “This project is a little bit different in that I’m trying to bring a perspective.”
Photojournalist Kate Medley. Photo by Rory Doyle for The New York Times.
Medley’s work documents the South and its connectedness, creativity and generosity against the background of savory and colorful menus of service stations, convenience stores and quick stops. BraveHeart students who participated in the community response followed Medley’s lead with great enthusiasm. “Because they were so inspired by Kate’s work, we are expanding out People at Work photovoice walks,” Powell noted, saying the initiative hopes to reach out to more people and more diverse locations.
“Medley’s photography helps a breadth of learners discover the importance of the art form and its applications,” said Cindi Malinick, The Jule’s executive director. “She captures our attention with a powerful visual story about our region and our identity. The people and places documented by our community photographers are in conversation with those she met through her travels. Viewers can explore this special college town through this lens and discover new details, adding to the narrative about who we are as the Auburn Family and who we want to be.”
Gaining a new perspective
Medley visited Auburn this past fall to meet with seventh graders at East Samford School, part of a longtime collaboration between The Jule and the City of Auburn, the Auburn Studio Project. The exhibiting artist discussed her career as a photojournalist with students in Tricia Oliver’s East Samford School classroom. “Anytime students are exposed to working artists, it becomes more real that art and photography are viable ways to earn a living,” Oliver said.
Medley taught Oliver’s students the basics of using cameras and taking photos and gave them some unusual advice. “She also encouraged them not to take the standard “smile” pictures of their subjects and to change their point of view,” Oliver said, as well as how to use the available light to their advantage. “[It showed] that it wasn’t necessary to have fancy equipment,” highlighting that art making in many forms is accessible to all. Geared up with digital cameras provided by the museum, the students applied their portraiture and landscape photography skills while visiting local businesses.
Kate Medley (center) with East Samford School students who participated in the juried community response.
But beyond the mechanics of the camera and lights, Medley’s juried community response allowed students to use their creativity and curiosity to explore the world around them, making the familiar unfamiliar in a way that reveals something new. “[It] made them pay attention to their surroundings and gain a new perspective on the people, places and goings-on around them,” Oliver said. “I saw them seeking out new [points-of-view] to frame the story they wished to convey through a photograph. East Samford’s students share their storytelling impulse with Medley herself. “What I am trying to do is celebrate the people and the culture of these spaces, and there’s something about them that I find interesting, something about them that I think contributes to what is unique and special about the South.”
Medley’s exhibition and jurored community response are both on view at The Jule through May 25, 2025, with additional objects on view at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center. The photojournalist is due to return to the museum on April 24 for The Jule’s weekly Common Grounds series, in which she will be in conversation with the College of Liberal Art’s Director of Strategic Initiatives and Programs, Joan Harrell, whose Advanced Reporting students met with Medley in Fall 2024. Admission and registration are free. Visit jcsm.auburn.edu for more information.
