Exhibitions

Exhibitions Are Back at CDS!

We’re excited to welcome you to “Emerging Documentary Work,” now on view throughout all our galleries and buildings. See details below. Also, check out our past exhibitions and stay tuned for details about upcoming Fall 2025 exhibitions!

Summer Hours

Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

On View Now

Emerging Documentary Work | April 24 – August 29, 2025

A woman sits in a brick building entrance outside with a Duke arch behind her, and with images of her wrapped in plastic to her left and right. — This mural-size portrait by Yile Liu (DKU ‘26) is one of the works on display. This piece is part of the series, “Third Person,” exploring the complex intersection of Yile’s Chinese culture with daily life in Durham, North Carolina.

Explore our vibrant and wide-ranging showcase of emerging documentary work by more than 80 students enrolled in CDS undergraduate and graduate courses during the 2024–25 academic year. From striking black-and-white prints by new photographers to compelling capstone projects by graduating and rising seniors, this show highlights the breadth and depth of student storytelling across mediums.

Nearly every wall and exhibition space in the CDS galleries and buildings is filled with fresh documentary perspectives — don't miss the opportunity to see this work by the next generation of documentarians.

Find more details in our exhibition guide. Please note video screenings took place on April 24 and are not currently on view at CDS.

View of gallery wall with several different sized and framed color photographs — Ella Davis’s capstone project, “Foster Street,” extends across the largest gallery wall at CDS to present a visual study of a single block in Durham. The collage of photographs captures the beauty of the mundane and often-overlooked details of everyday life. Photo of exhibition space: Carol Bales

Photos of Latine leaders at Duke hang on a gallery wall next to smaller images with text. — Lauren Valle’s capstone project, “Unseen Histories: Latinidad in Focus,” consists of large-format black-and-white portraits and personal narratives of 10 Latine student leaders on campus. Photo: Lauren Henschel

A zine is opened on a table to brightly colored images, a wedding couple in red and gold ink on the left, and the same couple older on a chat with their daughter in black and yellow ink on the right. — “믿음, 소망, 사랑 (Faith, Hope, Love)” is a zine by Grace “Gi” Chun created in the “Capstone Seminar in Documentary Studies” course. Printed with rich color and layered texture on a risograph, this work reinterprets family artifacts to process familial love and grief. Photo of exhibition: Carol Bales

Black and white photo of a woman carrying a stuffed animal with a girl and stuffed animal smaller below. — This photograph by Susen Shi is part of the series, “Anti—?” exploring emotions and identities of individuals on the aromantic and asexual spectrum. This work, created as part of a master’s project in Graduate Liberal Studies, invites viewers to consider varying forms of intimacy and connection.

photo of the outside of a worn building with a yellow staircase and graffiti — This photograph by Jack Regan is part of the series, “Tag,” created in the “Color Photography: Fieldwork and Digital Color“ course.

black and white photo of a woman in a dark shirt and white skirt leaning off of a white railing on a white porch. — Jenna Yeam’s photograph is part of a group exhibition of prints made in “The View Camera: Black and White Large Format Photography” course. Students created images with a 4 x 5 view camera then made contact prints on gelatin silver paper in the darkroom.

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Exhibitions

Exhibitions Are Back at CDS!

Summer Hours

On View Now

Emerging Documentary Work | April 24 – August 29, 2025

Center for Documentary Studies

For Undergraduate Students

For Graduate Students

About CDS

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