Sonia Handelman Meyer (American, 1920-). “Tax Booth at Jehovah’s Witness Rally, Yankee Stadium,” circa 1946-50. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of Sonia Handelman Meyer and Hodges Taylor Art Consultancy.

After almost 50 years of obscurity Sonia Handelman Meyer’s social imagery and photography with the New York Photo League has been rediscovered with the first major exhibition devoted to her work at the Mint Museum. Now through June 29 “Bearing Witness: The New York Photo League and Sonia Handelman Meyer” will be on display at the Mint’s Randolph location. The exhibition comprises almost 100 images by the New York Photo League with special emphasis on Meyer’s work.

The Photo League was created in 1936 by young, idealistic photographers who wanted to explore the streets of New York and dedicate their art to social imagery and the portrayal of ordinary people. The Photo League expanded and revolutionized documentary photography away from purely objective imagery to a call for social action. By the late 1940s this mission placed the group in a dangerous position as McCarthyism escalated, and the Photo League disbanded by 1951. Significant members of the Photo League represented in the exhibition include Berenice Abbott, Margaret Bourke-White, Vivian Cherry, Sid Grossman, Arnold Newman, Lou Stoumen, and Ida Wyman.

Meyer, born in Lakewood, N.J., in 1920, spent most of her life in New York.  She was concerned like other members of the Photo League with making images that would affect social and political change. One of her most important photo series documented Sydenham Hospital, the first integrated hospital in the country, and helped in fundraising efforts to keep the hospital open. Other significant projects involved the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society and her extensive documentation of life in Harlem and Spanish Harlem.

This Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m.  a special ArtFusion program will feature “Bearing Witness.” Visitors will have the opportunity to view the exhibition and meet Charlotte photographers who explore social imagery. Photographers will include Franklin Castro, Sandra and Odell Guynes, Rebecca Ham and Eboni Lewis, among others. This ArtFusion event will feature live jazz by the Tenya Colemon Trio. Admission is free.

Mint Museum:  2730 Randolph Road, Charlotte, N.C.; (704) 337-2000; HOURS: Monday-Tuesday Closed, Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.