The Anna Russo-Sieber Gallery, 147 Fifth St., Benton Harbor, will exhibit the work of Joshua Nowicki through May 21 with an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.
Nowicki spends his time as an outdoor photographer capturing raw nature at its best. His images have appeared on local and national news because of their sheer impact and beauty. Moreover, his images have been used by St. Joseph Today and the Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council. Several of his photos have been highlighted on the Pure Michigan Facebook page and in blog posts.
The exhibit at ARS Gallery will cover a retrospect (the last year of photography) of Nowicki’s work in Southwest Michigan.
Nowicki grew up in the Grand Rapids area and, as a child, spent a lot of his time camping, fishing and enjoying the nature and beauty of Michigan. He began his career in museums, at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum while working on his master’s degree in anthropology at Western Michigan University.
After graduating, Joshua moved to the metro-Detroit area where he was employed for six years at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. He held a variety of positions at this organization, including archivist, systems analyst and administrator as well as a graphic designer. It was at the Holocaust museum where Nowicki initially developed his interest in photography; photographing the museum’s architecture, exhibits and events for publication and marketing purposes. At this time, Joshua used a camera that had been donated to the museum… and as a result his photography primarily focused on the museum.
In 2011, Nowicki took a job at Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, as the director of community relations.
In this position, he oversaw the marketing and graphic design for the organization. Until February of 2012, the only camera Nowicki had to use was a small six megapixel point-and-shoot camera.
“In February, my parents came to visit me . . . we went out shopping and my father told me that we were not going to leave the store until I picked out a better camera . . . I went home with a Nikon D5100.”
The new camera challenged Nowicki to improve. Within a short time, one of his photos was requested by Shore Magazine and appeared as the cover of the May/June 2012 issue.
The exhibit opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday will feature hors d’oeuvre prepared by Timothy’s Restaurant in Union Pie. Musician monTe micHel bLeu will providing the music for the event.
See Joshua’ photos at: https://www.facebook.com/startvisiting