Tom R. Chambers, a Visual Artist and Documentary Photographer, has had
over thirty exhibitions in the United States, Zimbabwe and South Korea. He
recently completed an exhibition, 'People To People' (a series of
documentary portraits of the Korean people), in South Korea, and it was
shown at the Kumho Art Center in Kwangju, South Korea.
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. 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), and 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.
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. 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, and accepted by the Secretary of State (Rhode Island) as a part of the Rhode Island State Archives Permanent Collection (received a Governor's (Rhode Island) Proclamation). 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). He was listed 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 and 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 ( for Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.) and the Andrus Foundation/American Association for Retired Persons; and provided documentation of city life and politics for the Executive Office of the Mayor, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A., which culminated in the exhibition, 'Hot City' (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. And he produced and directed visual arts/performance arts presentations, 'VP90' and 'CYSX2', as a part of 'First Night Providence', Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
