On Friday, Oct. 4, photographer, visual artist and first-time MacDowell Fellow Lenard Smith will present work from a series titled “Last Departure” at MacDowell Downtown. Free and open to all, this one-hour program will take place at the Peterborough Town Library beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Smith is a first-generation Ghanaian-American artist and educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. In his ongoing body of work, Smith is investigating manmade structures as hand-built models, reimagining how they can be visualized and experienced. While connected to the still-life genre, Smith’s images also incorporate surrealist strategies, visual references to African diaspora and brutalist design.

Smith is currently a visiting assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside. He has published six artist books and been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. His work is included in the permanent collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and his images have appeared in The New York Times and The Atlantic. Having received an MFA in advanced photographic studies from Bard College after having worked as a photographer for two decades, Smith’s work is grounded in traditional practices and formal experimentation.

Doors open at 7 p.m., with light refreshments served.

If you go

Who:  Photographer Lenard Smith

What:  MacDowell Downtown  

Where:  Peterborough Town Library, 2 Concord St., Peterborough

When: Oct. 4, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.