C o l l e c t e d V I S I O N S was conceived by Lorie Novak and created in collaboration with Clilly Castiglia, Betsey Kershaw, and Kerry O'Neill. Launched in May 1996, Collected Visions is a participatory website that explores the relationship between family photographs and memory.

The most significant aspect of Collected Visions is the ability to submit images to a growing archive of family photographs and create photo stories. You can search and view images from the on-line database of more than 1200 images and then create and submit live photographic essays exploring the power of family snapshots. Changing exhibitions of selected submitted essays are presented in the Collected Visions (CV)Gallery and then archived in the Collected Visions (CV)Museum.

The concept for Collected Visions grew out of the photographs and installations Lorie Novak has been creating since the early 1980s. She uses family snapshots and images from the media to explore the relationships between personal and collective memory. Lorie Novak curates the exhibitions in the CV Gallery and maintains the CV Museum. Because the concept of "truth" is a complicated one, the ownership of the snapshots is not identified beyond what is written in the essays. The majority of submitted stories are posted--the goal of the site is to be a place of diverse voices.

The site continues to grow with submissions worldwide. Submissions are made via the web as well as at kiosks in exhibitions. The interactive components are translated into spanish, and many of the essays are bilingual.

For more specific navigation information, please see the site guide. You can also email us at cvisions@cat.nyu.edu. Collected Visions is sponsored by the Center for Advanced Technology at New York University.