The Saint Vincent Gristmill Museum and General Store will feature an exhibit, “In between the cobbles: photography and poetry of Prague,” by Saint Vincent College alumna Sherrie Dunlap. Running October 5-November 2, the exhibit will showcase photography and writings done this summer. Dunlap, of Latrobe, was one of eight Americans to join eight Czech students in the 20th Anniversary of Dr. James Ragan’s Prague Summer Writing Program at Charles University, in the Czech Republic’s capital city. The opening reception is from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, October 5. The exhibit is open during regular General Store hours, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays.
“I am including some of my writing, because of the classes I took in Prague and also because I like the contrast of writing which is an ongoing process of creating work that is always growing and changing versus having the one shot to capture a moment and mood unique to that fleeting moment in order to tell a story, ” Dunlap, a 2009 college graduate said.
She added, “I am very grateful to Dr. Ragan for the opportunity to be a part of his writing program and for him sharing Prague, his city, and all of its hidden gems and stories with us. His classes in poetry and screenwriting were as educationally rich and as vibrant in spirit as the whole of Prague. To be instructed by Dr. Ragan, a man with such a successful, diverse and global career was a true gift.”
“I see photography as storytelling and seek to capture moments and details to weave together a narrative of adventure and of the places I am fortunate to visit and about the people I am so blessed to meet,” she said. Her travels have included three service trips to Brazil, a pilgrimage Italy, a home-stay in Ireland and Northern Ireland, culture touring of Turkey, two trips to France. Most recently, in addition to her travels to and study in Prague, she was invited to be a guest speaker at The Angley School in Cranbrook, England.
As her last public exhibit was three years ago with classmates from Dr. Ronald Davis’ documentary photography class in Paris, Sherrie said, “I am thrilled yet humbled to be having my own exhibit on Prague at The Gristmill Museum, a place that feels like home; you just can’t duplicate its warm, rustic ambiance.”
Dunlap earned a B.A. in communication, magna cum laude, concentrating in public relations and advertising with a minor in sociology. She is an Americorps*VISTA alumna and currently works as the director of public relations and is the assistant in the Development Office and Center for Student Creativity at Greater Latrobe School District. She is a parishonier of Saint Vincent Basilica, a member of the choir there and is an associate member of Public Relations Society of America and PRSA Pittsburgh and serves as the co-chair of the Student-Alumni Relations Committee on Saint Vincent College Alumni Council.
She said she is grateful to her friends and family for their constant love and support and especially to her parents, Jim and Mary Ann Dunlap she said, “For not only giving me roots but also wings.”
