Current Exhibition

Danny Lyon: Civil Rights

January 13 - March 8, 2026

In this exhibition of 57 photographs taken in 1963, Danny Lyon (1942- ) humanized the daily work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as they organized and trained communities to advocate and preserve their Civil Rights. Amid harsh conditions and threat of violence, Lyon captures young faces full of determination, dejection, and every emotion in between. As part of Misericordia University’s Annual MLK Week celebration, this exhibition hopes to draw connections between Civil Rights workers who set an example for those advocating for justice in modern times.

A giant of post-War documentary photography and film, Brooklyn native Danny Lyon helped define a mode of photojournalism in which the picture-maker is deeply and personally embedded in his subject matter. A self-taught photographer and a graduate of the University of Chicago, Lyon began his photographic career in the early 1960s as the first staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a national group of college students who joined together after the first sit-in by four African American college students at a North Carolina lunch counter. From 1963 to 1964, Lyon traveled the South and Mid-Atlantic regions documenting the Civil Rights Movement.  The photographs were published in The Movement, a documentary book about the Southern Civil Rights Movement, and later in Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, Lyon’s own memoir of his years working for the SNCC. All works in this exhibit are from the Collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg. This exhibition was organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions.

Gallery Talk and Reception

“The Dream Reimagined: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue.” Wednesday, January 21, 3-5:30pm

In conjunction with Misericordia University MLK Week, arts and humanities faculty will explore MLK’s legacy and its impact on shaping public perception and driving social change. Reception to follow, featuring live music by Jimmy Gee.

This event is free and open to the public. Visitors who are able are requested to bring donations of non-perishable foods, hygiene items, and household essentials for McCauley Market.