Reception for Suburban Roots by Anthony Reid 
September 6, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
West Dade Regional Library
9445 Coral Way
Suburban Roots: Portraits of Home and CommunityÂÂÂ
Anthony Reid
September 6 – December 15, 2012
Anthony Reid, Granddaddy Cheeks (Goulds), 2000, archival pigment print.
Through photographic images captured between 1987 and 2010, Anthony Reid documents the lives, culture, and history of African Americans living in his childhood community, Goulds, and its surrounding neighborhoods – Cutler Bay, Perrine, and South Miami Heights communities. This collection of 50 black and white portraits revere a cross section of the African Americans who make up these areas frozen by spiritual blight and cultural banality so typical of American suburbia. These images serve as a testament to the pride and humanity of men, women, and children who live, work, and play throughout neighborhoods that have long existed outside of the more familiar idyllic identity of South Florida.
About the Artist
Anthony Reid is a fine art photographer who began creating black and white portraits of family and neighbors during his late teens. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Florida International University and a Master’s of Arts in Social Studies Education from the University of Massachusetts. Although he is primarily self-taught, most of his formal study of photography took place while attending Miami Dade College. He now regards himself as belonging to a new breed of "tradigital" photographers whose work strive to preserve traditional techniques and styles while incorporating the digital tools when creating the image.
Suburban Roots is Reid’s first solo exhibition. His body of work includes other series of portraits, landscapes, and abstracts taken throughout the varying stages of his life: while working as a clerk in a Miami record store during the 1980s; throughout his career as a public school teacher; and during his ongoing experiences as a world traveler and international volunteer working with children and teens.
