Current Exhibits and Future Events
Exhibit: Just One More: Celebrating The Life And Work of Joel "Nick" Nichols
Photographic displays around the Winthrop University campus and in Rock Hill this fall will recognize the decades of work by former long-time university photographer Joel “Nick” Nichols.
A third-generation photographer, Nichols spent 46 years telling the Winthrop story through pictures as the university’s full-time photographer until his retirement in 2008. His ability to capture fleeting moments in time touched generations well beyond Winthrop.
The exhibit, called “Just One More…Celebrating the Life and Work of Joel Nichols,” is a way to remember the many contributions of Nichols, who passed away in December 2020.
The main exhibition will be featured on campus in the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections beginning Sept. 16 and remaining up through the Winthrop’s Homecoming and Reunion activities in mid-November. The Pettus Archives is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
During that same timeframe, several mini-exhibitions will be stationed around campus in Tillman Hall, the DiGiorgio Campus Center, Joynes Hall, and Dacus Library. Three downtown Rock Hill sites – the White Home from September 16 - November 13, the Arts Council of York County (Perimeter Gallery) from September 9 - October 29, and the York County Library from September 16 - November 13 – also will display samples of Nichols’ work.
The Pettus Archives has thousands of Nichols’ negatives and prints. “Nick was a truly talented photographer, and he was a humble and kind gentleman,” said Gina Price White ‘83, director of archives and special collections. “He helped document and preserve the history of Winthrop and its students, faculty, staff, alumni and leaders. He also captured through his lens the people, places and life of the city of Rock Hill, the state of South Carolina and beyond. We loved working with Nick, and we are honored to be able to preserve his work.”