Alexander Artway's Photography: Light & Legacy

Featuring the Alexander Artway Archive & Photographer Katie Tackman

Curated by Amie Potsic, CEO & Principal Curator, Amie Potsic Art Advisory 

Exhibition Dates: September 2 – 28, 2025

Location: Old City Jewish Art Center119 N 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Gallery Hours: First Fridays, 12 PM–9 PM and By Appointment Monday–Saturday 12 PM–5 PM; Sunday 12 PM–4 PM

Information:  https://www.amiepotsicartadvisory.com/events/2025/8/21/alexanderartwayphotographs

Contacts:Amie Potsic, Curator – amie@amiepotsicartadvisory.com | 610-731-6312

Old City Jewish Art Center – info@ocjac.com | (215) 627-2792 | https://www.ocjac.org/

The Old City Jewish Art Center proudly presents Alexander Artway's Photography: Light & Legacy, on view September 2–28, 2025. Curated by Amie Potsic, CEO & Principal Curator of Amie Potsic Art Advisory, the exhibition is a featured program of the 20/20 Photo Festival in Philadelphia and unveils the extraordinary archive of photographer Alexander Artway alongside contemporary works by photographer Katie Butterfield Tackman.

Together, their images illuminate the enduring power of photography to preserve memory, document history, and reveal the poetry of light.

Born in Gomel, Belarus in 1903, Alexander Artway's life reflects resilience, reinvention, and the immigrant experience. Conscripted into the White Army before fleeing Europe wounded, Artway arrived at Ellis Island in 1922 and immersed himself in the vibrant, ever-changing cityscape of New York. He photographed its rising skyscrapers, bustling streets, and quiet corners with a discerning eye, later expanding his vision across the world as a captain in the Merchant Marines.

His archive—meticulously preserved by his daughter, Jeanette Artway Jimenez—contains over 3,000 vintage prints and 4,000 negatives, many hidden for decades in a battered suitcase that became a vessel of family history and cultural memory.

Jimenez explains, "He created me and I rescued his legacy – and an important part of American and Russian history – the immigrant experience, something that shaped my values along with my father's unconventional and artistic values, which helped me become the strong woman I am."

Jimenez herself is a distinguished Philadelphia educator and cultural steward. A Temple University graduate, she inspired generations of students through her creative, student-centered teaching at the Parkway program, including Cherelle Parker—now the first female mayor of Philadelphia—who credits Jimenez with helping her discover the power of her own voice. By safeguarding her father's archive, Jimenez has extended her lifelong commitment to empowerment, education, and the preservation of cultural history.

Remembering the harrowing moment she acquired his photographs, Jimenez recalled, "My father died suddenly of a heart attack on August 25, 1963 at the age of 60. I was twenty-one and living on my own at college.  I had one hour to return home and take a few of his possessions.  I picked a battered suitcase filled with photographs he had taken and his camera. I have kept this suitcase with me throughout my life, moving it from apartments to houses, across the country and back. The suitcase contained all that I knew of my extended family."

This exhibition pairs Artway's historic photographs with Tackman's contemporary, collage-collaborations, bridging past and present through visual dialogue. Tackman's work extends Artway's imagery into new narratives of memory, history, and belonging.

Thanks to Jimenez's determination, Artway's photographs are now part of the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and presented by Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.

Light & Legacy marks a rare opportunity for audiences to experience Artway's photographs in depth, celebrating a body of work that resonates far beyond one man's life to speak to themes of immigration, resilience, and artistic vision.

Special Events:

• Opening Reception + Shabbat Dinner

  First Friday, September 5 | 5–9 PM (Shabbat Dinner at 9 PM)

  Celebrate First Friday with the exhibition opening followed by a communal Shabbat dinner. All are welcome.

  
  

• Talk & Meet and Greet with Jeanette Artway Jimenez

  Sunday, September 14 | 2–4 PM

  Hear stories of her father's remarkable journey and the rediscovery of his archive.

  
  

• Closing Reception

  Sunday, September 28 | 2–4 PM

  A final opportunity to celebrate the exhibition and honor Artway's enduring contributions to photography.