Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, MA: Installation

Danforth Art Museum

100 State Street
P.O. Box 9101
Framingham, MA 01701
January 31, 2026 - May 24, 2026
Opening Reception: February 7, 6pm
Artist Panel: May 17, 3pm
Curated by Jessica Roscio, Ph.D, Director and Curator at Danforth Art Museum

Curatorial Statement

We all carry the weight of memory. Our lives are woven with recollections of moments, people, and places—some as clear as if they were yesterday, others faded and indistinct. Memories often appear out of the blue, triggered by a sight, sound, or smell that immediately transports us. We may even hold memories that are not our own—misremembering or altering moments as they fade further into the past. This exhibition asks what it means to be a keeper of memories, as well as one who carries them forward—creating a new version of the past.

Memory Is A Verb is a collective of ten photographers whose work explores memory, mortality, perception, and the passage of time. All are united in their use of the photographic medium, although they approach it in varied ways. Since its inception, photography has allowed us to hold onto something tangible as lived experiences fade into oblivion and memories become fluid. Aline Smithson, Lori Ordover, Dena Elisabeth Eber, Jennifer Pritchard, Rosalie Rosenthal, Annette LeMay Burke, Elizabeth Bailey, Sarah Hadley, Diane Hemingway, and Susan Lapides bring us into homes past and present, walk us through treasured landscapes, and mine the photographic archive. Their work illustrates how memories activate when they are felt through objects, and how photographs connect past lives to a contemporary understanding of self.

So many of our memories are connected to loss.  Loss of family members, home, land, and even loss of the ways in which we used to preserve memories—on film, slides, or in albums. Technology becomes obsolete, objects are thrown away, time passes and no one remains to recognize a face in a photograph. What happens then?  Who becomes the keeper of your memory, and what story would they tell?

About the Curator

Jessica Roscio, Ph.D., is an experienced Curator and Museum Director who has spent the majority of her career working in the museum field. Jessica has held positions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She joined the Danforth Art Museum in 2011. In her current position as Director and Curator she develops and leads an exhibition program focused on contemporary, regional art in all media. She has a demonstrated history of innovative exhibitions of both contemporary and historical art and is well-connected with artists and artistic practice throughout New England. She frequently serves as a juror for exhibitions and writes on contemporary photography.

Jessica's academic background is in American art history, specifically the history of photography. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Boston University in 2013. Her dissertation, "Photographic Domesticity: The Home/Studios of Alice Austen, Catharine Weed Barnes Ward, and Frances Benjamin Johnson," focused on the studio practice and creative uses of domestic tropes of three turn-of-the-twentieth century female photographers. Her current work focuses on gender, photography, and material culture. Jessica is skilled in Art History, Archival Research, and Museum Collections.