Second Street Gallery is pleased to present Charlottesville Porch Portraits in the Dové Gallery from April 4–May 23, 2025. The project, led by Charlottesville-based photographer Ézé Amos, was inspired by Massachusetts photographer Cara Soulia’s pivot to taking family photos on stoops, porches, and front yards in exchange for donations to charity. The exhibition features portraits of members of the local community by Amos and fellow photographers Tom Daly, Kristen Finn, John Robinson, and Sarah Cramer Shields.
The project, which captured more than 1,000 portraits collectively portraying people’s resilience during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, made it possible for members of Charlottesville’s community to safely see and interact with one another during a period of social distancing. The project raised over $40,000 to help local artists and gig workers that were financially impacted during the early COVID-19 lockdown.
Charlottesville Porch Portraits acts as a reflective mirror, encouraging the community to contemplate on the unprecedented era of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to visually narrate our lived experiences during those trying times, exhibiting our collective efforts of distant yet resourceful aid, and shedding light on our intrinsic journey of resilience. We eagerly anticipate the dialogues and perspectives this insightful exhibit will ignite within the community.
This will be the first time that the project will be shown collectively to the community in a public space. Previously, these photos were only available for viewing on digital social media platforms.
The exhibition will kick off with a ticketed Exhibition Preview Party and Fundraiser on Thursday, April 3, from 5:30–7:30PM. The exhibition will open to the public on April 4 at 11AM, with special First Friday hours from 5:30–7:30PM.
This exhibition is generously sponsored by The FUNd at the CACF, OakHeart Financial Group, Stubblefield Photo Lab, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and individuals from the community of Charlottesville, Virginia, the surrounding communities, and beyond.
Meet the Photographers
Ézé Amos
ezeamos.smugmug.com | @ezeamosphotography
Ézé Amos is a documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Charlottesville Virginia. Originally trained in the sciences at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. After embracing his passion for fine art, and then photography, Ézé immigrated to Charlottesville in 2008 where he now captures the unique spirit and energy of our city. Driven to tell the true stories of Charlottesville and neighboring communities.
Ézé is also an affiliate photographer with numerous national and international media organizations and his works have been featured by The New York Times, Getty Images, NPR, AP, CNN, Buzzfeed, Washington post and The New Yorker, just to mention a few.
Ézé is always on the move, he is currently working on a book as part of the “The Story of Us” project. and he is also busy documenting resistance efforts on the ground and bringing out the beauty in people around him.
Tom Daly
tomdalyphotography.com | @tomdalyphoto
Tom is a full-time professional freelance photographer, and has lived and worked in Charlottesville since graduating from UVA in 2004.
Kristen Finn
kristenfinn.com | @ksfinn
Kristen Finn is an artist and commercial photographer with an interest in the way people inhabit space and connect with one another. Her portraits look for small, honest moments while her process alternates between being witness and playful experimentation. Finn is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
John Robinson
robinsonimagery.com | @robinsonimagery
John is a father, husband, and photographer. He lives in Charlottesville with his family, his garden, and his many animal companions. He's never met a stranger, and won't start with you.
Sarah Cramer Shields
sarahcramershields.com | @cramerphoto
Sarah Cramer Shields is a portrait, brand, and wedding photographer in her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. Her images have been published elsewhere in numerous newspapers and magazines, and in five cookbooks. "I always approach my new clients and shoots with enthusiasm and fresh ideas,” she says, “but honestly, my specialty is people. I have been documenting people’s lives for over 20 years — making them feel comfortable and showing the world their beauty."
Programming for May 2025 for Charlottesville Porch Portraits
May Family Studio Day
Saturday, May 12, 10AM-2PM
Artists in Conversation
Wednesday, May 21, 5:30-6:30PM
The staff and board of Second Street Gallery and the Charlottesville Porch Portrait photographers extend our most sincere appreciation for the following individuals who made this exhibition possible through a sponsorship of an individual photograph in the show:
Alloy Workshop (4) • Virginia Anderson (2) • Erica Barnes • Natalie Batman • Kristen Bell • Talbot Brewer (2) • Eboni Bugg • Aleen Carey • Charles & Janet Cheeseman (2) • Kristen Chiacchia • Maurice Covington (2) • Virginia Donelson • Lisa Draine • Charlotte & Ralph Dammann (5) • Stacey Evans & John Grant (2) • Thomas Garrison • Laura Horn • Matthew Hauck • Shannon Hauck • Nancy Janney (2) • Autumn Kurtz • Emily Hagan Lazaro • Courtney Mallett • Andrea Massey • Annie Morony • Alexandra Quinn • Gracen Rinehart • JoAnn C. Robinson • Milo Robinson • Carlisle Sargent • Emily Schorpp • Meghan Smith • Tunji Soroye • Jeremy Stern (2) • Rachel Thielmann (2) • Jennifer Tietz • Andrea Ruedy Trimble • Karen Walker
If you would like to sponsor a photo from the exhibition, please visit our website HERE.
Your sponsorship helps to offset the costs related to the printing, mounting, and installation of the photos in the exhibition. It will also allow the photographers to gift the printed photos to each of the families featured in the show following the close of the exhibition.