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University of Louisville health sciences library hosts permanent Positive Exposure photo exhibit to humanize patients
Summary
Vida Vaughn described a grant-funded Positive Exposure exhibit at the Kornhauser Health Sciences Library that used portraiture and storytelling to present patients as individuals; the project cost over $46,000, involved about 32 families and includes a public online record of each subject's story.
Vida Vaughn, director of the Kornhauser Health Sciences Library at the University of Louisville, described a permanent exhibit of portrait photography intended to broaden how health professions students see and treat patients.
"We need to be seen, we need to be heard, and we need to belong," Vaughn said while showing portraits and accompanying narratives from the project, which she said was undertaken in partnership with the Positive Exposure Foundation and university clinical departments. Vaughn said the exhibit presents people "beyond the clinical diagnosis," and that families who participated received prints and were invited to a public launch.
Vaughn said the project was grant-funded and required an institutional review board (IRB)–style consent process because images and stories were publicly displayed. She told attendees the photo shoot took place the October before the launch, was completed across about four days on campus, and that approximately 32 individuals or families were approached to participate.
Vaughn provided a project cost estimate: "this project was, 46 over $46,000," and described museum-quality framing, transportation, and coordination with facilities to install large prints on the library atrium walls. She also said the project team included the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Corey Harris (project lead), Dr. Fay Jones (vice chair for inclusive excellence in pediatrics), library staff, and the photographer Rick Giannotti.
At a launch event, Vaughn recounted a photographed child seeing his portrait and running to show his mother, an episode she said underscored the exhibit's emotional impact. Vaughn said accompanying online materials include patient stories and links to support agencies so students and visitors can learn about both the person photographed and relevant services.
The library will keep the exhibit in place as a permanent installation, with potential adjustments if building renovations require moving portraits. Vaughn said slides and a link to online stories will be shared with webinar registrants.
