Tom R. Chambers is a Documentary Photographer/Visual Artist. He is currently working with digital manipulation as an art form under the namesake of 'New Directions' with several online exhibitions to his credit. And he was Artist In Residence for the 3rd quarter/2000 at Studio211.com and Featured Guest (September 2000) at Creativenue.com. He is on the Faculty for WebPhotoSchool.com and Photo-Seminars.com. His documentary portraiture lesson is featured at these aforementioned sites and also at the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida, Click Photography, NAOFA (August 2000) and It's Art, Baby! Art!. As he becomes more and more involved with digital manipulation as an art form and the Internet, he continues to pick up his well-worn Nikon FE2s to generate conventional documentary projects.
He exhibited his work as a part of a two-person show, 'People To People' (a series of documentary portraits of the Korean people), at Kumho Art Center, Kwangju, South Korea (1997); and this coverage was accepted as a part of the Kumho Art Foundation Archives Permanent Collection.
He completed a three-year tour (1993-1995) as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa as an Art Conservator/Curator for the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and as the Initiator/Instructor of 'The McEwen Photographic Studio' for the National Gallery’s Art School: research/classification and computerization of the National Gallery’s Permanent Collection to produce a catalogue; and instruction of a fine arts/documentary photography workshop for Africans (exhibitions held of the students works: 'Moments In Time' (1993), 'Moments In Time II' (1994) and 'Moments In Time III' (1995) at the National Gallery).
He was invited by the National Gallery to exhibit 'Variations On The Dan Mask' (a conceptual look at the African mask form through manipulation of the photogram technique) (December 1995; officially opened by the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe); and he received a U.S. Government Grant via the United States Information Service (USIS), Harare to exhibit 'Southwest Of Rusape: The Mucharambeyi Connection' (a series of documentary portraits of the African people) at the USIS Gallery (June-July 1995; officially opened by the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe; and accepted as a part of the USIS Archives Permanent Collection).
He has exhibited his fine arts/documentary work throughout the U.S.A. (over thirty exhibitions), and his mixed media/interactive work, 'Mother's 45s' (a tribute to his mother through a combination of her 45rpm records, family photographs and sound (music from the records)), was selected through national competition for exhibition as a part of the 'Parents' show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. (1992).
American Photo magazine listed one of his documentary projects, 'Dyer Street Portraiture' (a look at the culture mix on a particular military street in El Paso, Texas, U.S.A.), in its March, 1986 issue. His documentary project, 'Descendants/350' (a look at Rhode Island’s (U.S.A.) early history through a combination of portraits of Descendants of the Founding Fathers and historical text), was shown throughout Rhode Island (ten sites) and accepted by the Secretary of State (Rhode Island) as a part of the Rhode Island State Archives Permanent Collection (1990) (received a Governor’s (Rhode Island) Proclamation); and his documentary project, 'In Black And White' (a look at Black culture and influence in Rhode Island) was shown and accepted as a part of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society Permanent Collection (Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.) (1989).
He founded and directed a not-for-profit, photographic arts organization and gallery, 'Viewpoint', Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A. (American Photo magazine reviewed one of the exhibitions at the gallery in its April, 1983 issue) (1982-1983); and founded and directed a not-for-profit, photographic arts organization, 'Photoreach', Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. (1990).
He was listed (1984-1991) in the Artists-In-Education roster with the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts (RISCA) (U.S.A.), and served as an Advisory Panelist for RISCA to determine funding for residency programs. He also served as an Advisory Panelist for the State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts (U.S.A.) to determine funding for residency programs.
He provided documentation of the homeless and poor in Rhode Island (U.S.A.) for the Rhode Island Food Bank (1986); provided documentation of the elderly in Rhode Island (U.S.A.) for Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.) and the Andrus Foundation/American Association for Retired Persons (1987); and provided documentation of city life and politics for the Executive Office of the Mayor, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. (also for the Rhode Island Delegation at the Democratic National Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. - 1988), which culminated in the exhibition, 'Hot City', at the Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. (1989) (1985-1990) (received a grant and Mayor’s Proclamation).
He conducted Polaroid workshops for at-risk, inner-city youth in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. for Metro Arts (grants from the Polaroid Foundation); and served as an Advisory Panelist for the organization (1986-1990). And he produced and directed visual arts/performance arts presentations, 'VP90 (Release)' and 'CYSX2' as a part of 'First Night Providence', Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. (1989-1991).
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