A family connection: 2022 Artist of the Pike explores Brownsville roots
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Photographer Stephen Beckman, the 2022 Artist of the Pike, felt inexplicably drawn to Brownsville.
“I had been living in Philadelphia and working for Mylan in Canonsburg,” Beckman said. “I had been traveling back and forth. I would spend the weekends in Philadelphia with my family. Along the way, I discovered Brownsville.”
He said there was something about the borough that just kept bringing him back. His aunt help him realize why.
“(She) was going through my grandparents’ belongings, and she found out that my grandmother was born in the Brownsville Hospital,” he said. “My grandmother had lived in Brownsville until she was 11 years old when her family moved to Kentucky. My father and my aunt were astounded when they found this out.”
That previously unknown family connection helped Beckman understand his draw to the borough, where he’s been living for the past year.
“The spirit of my grandmother brought me back to Brownsville,” he said. “It offered me a great opportunity to stay connected to a community that has a lot of history.”
Earlier this year, Beckman was named the 2022 Artist of the Pike, a designation made since 2000 by the Frank L. Melega Art Museum. That artist exhibits his or her work during the National Road Festival, as Beckman did this year.
On Friday, Beckman’s photography exhibit, “Every Town Has a Story … Some Need to Be Told,” will come to an end. A closing reception for his artwork will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the museum, located at 69 Market St. in Brownsville. The event is free and open to the public.
Beckman’s photos will be for sale during the reception, with the proceeds going to the museum.
“The reception is also aimed at bringing more people into the town so they can see what Brownsville has to offer,” he said. “Hopefully, events like this will stimulate a broader interest in the area. I hope that more people will start investing in Brownsville.”