This body of documentary photographs examines the role of gas stations throughout the American South, using these spaces as a lens to study this complex region, the people who live here, and how the populations and priorities are shifting. In a time when our politics are increasingly polarized, our neighborhoods segregated, and our rhetoric strained, still nearly everyone regularly passes through these same commercial spaces. We come together here almost out of necessity, or at least convenience. These images give due to the culture and people in these communities — the workers who sustain these gas stations and the customers who rely on them for fuel, food, essential goods, and community. This project puts expressed emphasis on emerging immigrant foodways launching from gas station kitchens — the cuisines of one’s native country and how that is merging with more traditional flavors of the American South, shifting the very definition of Southern food. We highlight the egalitarian nature of the gas station, integral to the lives of people in every socioeconomic bracket in the South, especially in rural areas. Spanning more than ten years, this project touches down in 11 southern states and documents more than 150 gas stations.
Artist Bios
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Kate Medley
Kate Medley is a North Carolina-based visual journalist documenting the American South. Her work focuses on storytelling and environmental portraiture and often explores issues of social justice and the shifting politics of the region. Medley’s debut book of photography, THANK YOU PLEASE COME AGAIN, was published by The Bitter Southerner in 2023. Medley lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she works as an independent photojournalist covering national news.
Organizations
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The Seaport
The Seaport is New York City’s original neighborhood, a maritime hub of history, culture, entertainment, and dining, located along the East River in Lower Manhattan. The neighborhood celebrates emerging and resident artists, local organizations, and community connectivity through its curated events & activations, including its public art program, Seaport Arts.
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Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
THANK YOU PLEASE COME AGAIN
Featuring: Kate Medley
Locations
View Location Details The South Street Seaport19 & 23 Fulton Street, as well as windows on the corner of Fulton & Front Streets
New York, NY 10038
