Former UNCG Photographers Create Exhibit

Two former UNC Greensboro employees have kept a low-profile since being fired and arrested in September. But now that the charges they once faced have been dropped, Chris English and David Wilson are re-entering public life the best way they know how - through photography.

An exhibit featuring their work is now on display at the Tate Street Coffee House.

English says the exhibit is the first step in the healing process.

"At some point, I'm in a position where I guess you could say I have to own it," he says."This is going to be part of our history. We just thought we'd show some of the images that came from all of this."

English and Wilson – along with their supervisor, Lyda Carpen – were fired amid allegations that they co-mingled their university work with freelance work for their private business. Charges were dropped in October, and all three are going through an appeal process through the university.

The pictures were selected from photo shoots taken during the time they were alleged to have been on university time. Both English and Wilson say the photos aren't necessarily their best work. But they illustrate what they went through in the wake of their firings. Wilson says what happened to the “UNCG3” sparked a dialogue on campus, and the exhibit is a way to keep that dialogue open.

"Any good art, it should start a conversation," he says. "Whether it's positive or negative, you know, it should start that conversation. And that's what we're trying to do."

Carpen helped with the layout of the exhibit. A narrative written by Andrea Spencer, another former employee from the same department, accompanies the photos.

The exhibit is scheduled to run through the end of the month.