Pulitzer Prize Photo Exhibition Opens April 25 at Ohio Historical Center

Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs, the largest display of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs ever shown, opens Friday, April 25 at The Ohio Historical Center in Columbus. This special exhibition features 150 award-winning images from 1942, when the Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism was established, through 2007. Information on the exhibition and all that Columbus offers visitors is available at experiencecolumbus.com or by calling (866) Exp-Cols.

Of the millions of photographs seen in newspapers each year, only two win the coveted Pulitzer Prize; one for breaking news and the other for feature photography. The images record the defining moments of our time captured by photojournalists doing their daily job — working on assignment close to home or around the globe.

Visitors will see one of the most extensive and dramatic photographic displays ever mounted at the museum. The images, 20-by-30-inches and 30-by-40-inches, are arranged chronologically on large panels, filling the main exhibit gallery. Each image is accompanied by a firsthand account of the events leading up to the photograph.

Some photographs have become icons of their time: the flag raising on Iwo Jima; the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald; the joyful family reunion of a returning Vietnam POW; the World Trade Center attack. Others record forgotten events of the last six decades. Some images tell the stories of the famous, while others portray the lives of ordinary people.

“The pictures show the brutalities of our age, but the Pulitzer photojournalists also recorded tender and compassionate moments,” said curator Cyma Rubin. “Shown together in the exhibition the photographs make us think about the realities of world events. Anyone who views the exhibition will be changed by the experience"

Rubin produced Moment of Impact: Stories of the Pulitzer Prize Photographs, an Emmy and Telly award-winning documentary of six of the Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalists. This 72-minute video captures the tension and fast pace of the unfolding events resulting in the Pulitzer Prize images. It will be shown continuously throughout the day.

The exhibition catalog, Capturing the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs, co-edited by Rubin, features the photographs in the exhibition along with firsthand accounts of each image. Other highlights include a history of the Pulitzer Prize and biographies of the photographers who have won this coveted prize. Both the video and catalog will be for sale at the Ohio History Store.

The Kent State Shootings Revisited
To tie into the 1971 Pulitzer winner “Kent State Massacre” by photographer John Paul Filo and the upcoming anniversary of the event, the Ohio Historical Center will feature It Happened in Ohio: The Kent State Shootings. Visitors will learn about the build up and reaction to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, through artifacts, photos and personal accounts.

In conjunction with the display, the Center will host Reflections on Kent State, one of its Community Conversations series, on May 15. Visitors are invited to experience both exhibitions from 6 to 7 p.m., and then gather for informal conversations with a panel, including Alan Canfora, director of the Kent May 4 Center, and others who experienced that fateful day.

Capture the Moment, which is sponsored by the Reinberger Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch, runs through July 25. Admission to the Ohio Historical Center is $7/adults, $3/students and free for OHS members and children 5 years of age and under.

The Ohio Historical Center is located at I-71 and East 17th Avenue in Columbus. Parking is $4 per vehicle and free to OHS members. For information on upcoming events, call 614.297.2300 or 800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org/capture.

Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs was developed by the Newseum, the interactive museum of news, in association with Business of Entertainment, Inc., NYC, Cyma Rubin, curator. The Newseum, which is opening a new facility on April 11 in Washington, D.C., is funded by The Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. For more information about the Newseum, visit www.newseum.org .

The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, archaeology and natural history. It administers the largest statewide network of sites and museum in the nation. For more information about the Ohio Historical Society memberships and programs, call 614-297-2300 or 800-686-6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.