Exhibits & Events

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Halide Project is pleased to present From the Ashes,curated by Dale Rio and featuring work by Tony Bellaver, Laurie Beck Peterson, Kari Varner, and Yelena Zhavoronkova. Coinciding with the 20/20 Photo Festival’s theme, “The Transforming Landscape,”

From the Ashes brings together artists who use historic and alternative photo-graphic processes to explore personal and political relationships to landscapes transformed by natural and human-caused events. The exhibition will be on view September 9–October 18, 2026, with an opening reception on Friday, September 11, from 5–8 p.m. Additional programming includes: A 20/20 Photo Festival panel discussion featuring Tony Bellaver on Sunday, September 13, from 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. A virtual reception on Monday, September 21, beginning at 7 p.m. A Cyanotype on Wood workshop taught by Laurie Beck Peterson on Sunday, September 27. An in-person closing reception on Saturday, October 10, from 5–8 p.m.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Tony Bellaver’s artistic practice is rooted in witnessing. In his project Resource Extraction, he documents clearcuts in the Pacific Northwest in a straight-forward, unflinching manner in order to interrogate the industrial forest extraction that fuels our society and to reveal that which the industry attempts to hide from the public. For more information, visit tonybellaver.com

Laurie Beck Peterson uses the cyanotype process to print images of fallen trees onto ash wood sections as a way to document what remains in a landscape devastated by the Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Through process, she elevates the discarded tree stumps to the status of sacred objects that both contain a historical record and serve as an omen. For more information, visit www.lauriebeckpeterson.com

Kari Varner uses satellite imagery of cattle feedlots in her home state of Kansas as source material for her exploration of these resource-intensive and aberrant architectural forms. Her images depict the aftermath of the transformation of the natural into a rigid system of industrial production, and their abstract quality underscores the extent to which these structures differ from the organic systems found in nature. For more information, visit www.karivarner.com

Yelena Zhavoronkova’s project Valley Fire is a response to the years of historic drought and fire experienced by her community in Northern California. The fire that lends its name to her series left deep marks on her life, after she witnessed firsthand the ease with which Mother Nature can overpower humans and their created environments. She prints in dramatic tones to underscore the tragedy using the platinum/palladium process, and the fire’s embers are represented with 24K gold leaf accents. For more information, visit instagram.com/yzhavoronkova

ABOUT THE VENUE

The Halide Project is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization passionate about preserving and promoting the art of film and historic process photography. Based in the vibrant Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, our mission is to serve both local and global photography communities through engaging exhibitions, dynamic educational programs, exciting collaborations with other organizations, and our community darkroom, which features a group black and white darkroom, film processing area, and a dim room for alternative and historic process work.