There’s something special about the power of place.
For Jayla Trenyce, the meaning is encapsulated throughout her new photography exhibit on display at the Ellwood House Museum in DeKalb now through mid-December.
“I was excited to be a part of the ‘Power of Place,’ highlighting the Black community but also the Latinx community in DeKalb County, and to get their personal stories and to learn about their experience here in DeKalb County, and be able to share more not only about the place but the people that give this place its meaning,” Trenyce said.
The work of Trenyce is the latest addition to the Arts in Action initiative spearheaded by the Ellwood House Museum in partnership with the DeKalb County History Center.
Trenyce put in a myriad of hours researching the histories of fear, exclusion, and hope in telling the stories of Black and brown lives in DeKalb County.
The photography exhibit centered specifically on community members attending the Israel of God’s Church in Sycamore and St. Mary Catholic Church in DeKalb.
“As this exhibition is called the ‘Power of Place,’ I wanted to put a lot of emphasis on people [who] came and cultivated this land literally and metaphorically,” Trenyce said. “I hope that their stories are able to be heard. I tried my best to authentically communicate things that they wanted to be communicated about their personal experiences and stories of DeKalb.”
On Saturday, Trenyce greeted the public during the exhibit’s opening reception at the Ellwood House Museum.
Trenyce said she is appreciative of the opportunity to have her work featured in the gallery at the Ellwood House Museum.
Trenyce is a Northern Illinois University graduate and an artist from Chicago.
“This means a lot to me,” she said. “I’ve had a longstanding connection with the Ellwood House [Museum.] I had my first group show here when I was a student, and then I got an internship here over the summer. This means a lot to me, full-circle moments. I had my first solo exhibition here, as well. I feel grateful that they trusted me to contribute to the success of the Arts in Action project.”
DeKalb County History Center Executive Director Michelle Donahoe said she was happy to work with Trenyce.
“She had a little more experience with not just photographing people but also physical places, and that was really part of the story,” Donahoe said. “It’s that nice balance where people need to have faces, so people can connect and see themselves in the story. But with this project, it’s again that ‘Power of Place’ that we wanted to have the building or structure also be an important part of the story visually.”
Trenyce, who studied photography during her time at NIU, said working on the exhibit challenged her artistically.
“I do mostly conceptual portrait work,” she said. “I think that the architectural work is something that I was able to grow in in this experience.”
Trenyce hopes anyone who sees her exhibit walks away a little more open-minded about their experience living in DeKalb County.
“There’s still some instances in today’s society where … fear and exclusion may still ring true, but just acknowledging that and being able to come here, thrive, have ownership and entrepreneurial endeavors, it builds spaces that feel safe with their family in their places of worship, as well,” she said.