Opening Reception: Amherst Then & Now

The Amherst History Center will host an opening reception for its inaugural exhibition *Amherst Then & Now: A Pictorial Retrospective of 125 Years of Memory Keeping* on Wednesday, September 10th from 5:00 to 7:00pm.  The curator of the exhibition, Elizabeth Cardarapoli, will be on hand and give a brief gallery talk starting at 6:00.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Amherst Historical Society and students at Amherst Regional High School.  With a few exceptions, the “now” images were taken by students in Elena Betke-Brunswick’s spring 2025 digital photography classes. Using 125 years as the parameters, Cardarapoli pulled archive images of people, places, and daily life in the date range of circa 1895-1905. These historic “then” photographers were given to the students who allowed their creative interpretation to capture the “now.” The resulting images are poignant, artistic, and surprising but are Amherst through the lens of the young people who call it home.