DK Photo Group Marks 50 Years of Neglect with Photography Exhibition on Buffalo Orphanage

Toronto, Ontario – October 16, 2006 – When Buffalo's German Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum closed in 1956, over 15,000 orphaned children had been residents. Now, 50 years later, alone it stands; charred by fire, and scarred by vandals. However, life still remains and these walls have stories to tell. For this reason, the DK Photo Group (DKPG) invites everyone to attend the opening of their show Orphaned on Thursday, October 19th, 2006 from 7-10pm at the Hang Man Gallery, 756 Queen Street East, Toronto.

All those who were associated with the home during its tenure have been an important part of many lives. From the priests to the nuns, teachers to supervisors, or even just a classmate or friend – over the years they touched the lives of many young people. From October 17 to November 6, 2006, the DKPG would like the public to come and witness these stories, as told through pictures and through the words of residents.

Many can remember the former beauty of the home, having been residents there at different times. They are most saddened to watch it wasting away due to neglect and abandonment. The DKPG photo exhibition hopes to help, in part, forestall the total erasure of the place from the communal mind.

Photographs of the chapel, boy’s and girl’s dormitories, the gymnasium and more will illustrate all that remains of this once proud monument to religion and education. From 1874 to 1956, these buildings housed orphans and cholera victims, though little still stands testament to this once proud home. Teamed with stories and memories from those who once lived there, the DKPG hopes to transport you back to a different time.

“Keep in mind, that it was, at times, a bitter experience and some of my childhood memories may have been blocked or ‘hazy’. I have discovered that these obfuscated feelings are not unique,” relates another pervious resident.

“There were also good experiences and I feel that had it not been for the highly rated education which the nuns imparted to their wards, life might have been a whole lot worse for many of us.”

The German Roman Catholic Orphan Home, is an institution in Buffalo with a long record of service and achievement. The original facility was located on Pine Street. It was established to care for orphans and victims of the cholera epidemic which ravaged the city in the year 1851. Many families were left fatherless and motherless by this dread disease, leaving the children homeless and destitute and dependent on charity. The remaining buildings on Dodge Street are all that are left of the home built in 1874.

Show Details:
Location: Hang Man Gallery, 756 Queen Street East (east of Broadview), Toronto
Duration: Tuesday, October 17th, 2006 to November 6th, 2006
Hours: Monday: closed, Tuesday-Friday: 11am-6pm, Saturday-Sunday: 12pm – 5pm
Gala Opening: Thursday, October 19th, 2006 from 7-10pm

About DK Photo Group:
The DK Photo Group is a collaborative effort, drawing together six photographers with similar interests to bring their vision and art to the world. Russell Brohier, Sean Galbraith, Steve Jacobs, Laurin Jeffrey, Mathew Merrett and Jay Morrison formed the DKPG in 2005 as they began to take notice of each other and their work. Together, they document the forgotten urban areas where most people will not go.

They do this to bring back the images they feel that they must share with the world. The DKPG wants others to be able to see what they have seen, what others do not want them to see. The decay, the neglect and the careless abandonment that many would just bulldoze into the earth, forever burying their stories.

Having exhibited solo and with others, this exhibition marks the second show by the entire group. After rave reviews of their Contact 2006 exhibition, the DKPG is pleased to be able to mount another group effort.

Press Contact: Russell Brohier
Phone: 416-465-0302
DK Photo Group || Hang Man Gallery
info@dkphotogroup.com || russell.brohier@gmail.com
www.dkphotogroup.com || www.artistsnetworkofriverdale.org/hangman/