TAMPA — “Breaking Barriers: Gathering Light,” an exhibition showcasing photography by military veterans and their families, will open with a reception and artist panel on Friday, May 22, 7 to 9 p.m., at the USF Contemporary Art Museum, 3821 USF Holly Drive, Tampa.
The reception is free and open to all. For more information call 813-974-4133, or email caminfo@usf.edu.
“Breaking Barriers: Gathering Light” is a curated selection of photographs created through the summer 2025 Breaking Barriers workshops. These intensive online photography workshops — offered free of charge to veterans and their families in the USF community, Tampa Bay, and beyond — were led by artist and educator Kristen Roles, with assistance from U.S. Air Force veteran Derek Hopkins.
“Gathering Light” reflects the many ways participants encountered, shaped, and gathered light, revealing it as both a physical phenomenon and a metaphor for perception, resilience, and connection. Through these images, “Gathering Light” honors the creative labor of all participants and invites visitors to slow down, look closely, and consider how the simple act of seeing and sharing what we see can help us better understand ourselves and one another.
Exhibiting artists include Christopher Algarin, Manfredo Bobadilla, David Bryant, Luis E. Carrasco Jr., Patricia A. Colbert, Diana Colon, Gail Cross, Bernadette Dunn, Michael E. Dunson Jr., Sha’na Folks, Evan Fountain, Paul Hall, Editha Perez Heberlein, Roger C. Heberlein, Valerie Larson, John Leduc, Kevin Guy Lipton, Mikko Maki, Tanya O’Brien, Kenya Selmon, Chris Smith, Kimberlee Nicole Smith, RJ Smith, Sharon Stentz, Roger St Julian, Monika Sutton, RaeAnne Swanson, Viana Taveres Fischer, Melisa Vélez, and Michael D. Webb.
Breaking Barriers is a program by USF Contemporary Art Museum in collaboration with the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, and supported by the USF Office of Veterans Success, the USF College of Design, Art & Performance, the USF School of Art & Art History, and a Community Arts Impact Grant of the Hillsborough Arts Council, Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.
The museum is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. The museum offers extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m. It is closed on Sundays, and on holidays, including June 19 and July 3 and 4.
USF Contemporary Art Museum organizes and presents significant and investigative exhibitions of contemporary art from Florida, the United States and around the world. Serving as a teaching laboratory, USFCAM’s curatorial initiatives and educational programs are designed to present the students, faculty, and community with current issues of contemporary art practice, and to explore the role of the arts in society. USFCAM publishes relevant catalogues, presents critically recognized traveling exhibitions and commissions new projects by national and international artists. USFCAM maintains the university’s art collection, comprising more than 5,000 contemporary art works. The Contemporary Art Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Visit https://ira.usf.edu/CAM/cam_about.html.