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Dallas, NC – The Gaston County Museum of Art & History is pleased to announce the opening of NC MAKERS, an exhibit of works by Gaston County photographer Joshua Braswell, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
The public is invited to an opening reception with the artist on Friday, February 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Museum. The reception is free and open to the public.
“I love photography and supporting creative expression in all of its varied forms,” Braswell says, “which led me to this project: NC MAKERS. The makers in this exhibit do amazing things, and I thank them for their willingness to allow me in their spaces of making.”
The exhibit features images of craftspeople, artists, farmers, and others across North Carolina engaged in their day-to-day business of creating. “I photographed these makers over the course of a calendar year, and I’m extremely grateful to the folks who participated,” he says. “They were going out on a limb by allowing me to photograph them – in many instances without having met me first. That was a tremendous level of trust that they didn’t have to extend to me.
“My hope,” he says, “is that viewers are inspired by these makers to do something creative, daring, or otherwise positively world changing.”
“I am consistently impressed with Joshua’s eye for details and his ability to capture movement and emotions in his photographs,” says Alicyn Wiedrich, the Museum’s curator. “Through his photographs, I invite you to find the rough hands, the sweat, and the intense focus that allows the act of making to be so powerful.”
Braswell is a Gaston County native who says his introduction to cameras and visual design came from his time at Highland School of Technology. “It was there that I worked on the school’s weekly morning news program,” he says, “and was introduced to video editing and other editing and design software.”
After attending Gaston College for two years, Braswell transferred to UNC-Greensboro, where he received a degree in Media Studies. “My educational background is more in video production rather than photography specifically, although my education including training in the technical aspects and principles of camera operation, as well as more artistic concepts such as composition, lighting, and focal length usage.”
Braswell says his background in cinema production influences his use of photography as a means of storytelling. “In college, I gravitated to the look of film noir and early expressionism, so in some subconscious way I think I can perceive the world in black and white and visualize that look better. For this exhibit, I shot digitally and then made the decision in editing which images I wanted to be rendered in black and white, and which ones in color.”
Braswell’s exhibit features images of Mi-Sook Hur, a metalsmith and enamellist at the Penland School of Craft near Spruce Pine; Michael Hofman, a porcelain artist from Asheville; and blacksmiths at Yellow Rose Forge, a Forest City blacksmith shop, among others.
“I love living in and exploring North Carolina,” he says. “My aim is to continue to have my photography focused on our state.”
Admission to the Gaston County Museum of Art & History is free. Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm and Saturday 11:00am – 4:00pm. For more information about the Museum, visit www.gastoncountymuseum.org.
