Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is pleased to announce an exclusive regional showing of fine art photographer Jim Westphalen’s documentary Vanish: Disappearing Icons of a Rural America at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts on. The film starts at 7:00 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker moderated by AARCH Executive Director Erin Tobin at 8:30 p.m..

Tickets are $15 and are available through the Lake Placid Center for the Arts website.

Old homes, barns, churches, industrial sites, and other historic buildings dot the rural American landscape, the Adirondack region included. While we celebrate preservation success stories, many buildings remain endangered. Even in a state of disrepair, these sites evoke a range of emotions. Fine art photographer Jim Westphalen’s film, Vanish: Disappearing Icons of a Rural America, chronicles his work to document the nation’s disappearing rural architecture. Westphalen’s evocative film showcases these structures front and center and highlights the people working to preserve their stories.

Filmmaker and fine art photographer Jim Westphalen says, “May this film and the imagery of Vanish encourage us to see the unacclaimed beauty of these fading treasures; to celebrate not only what they once were, but what they have now become. For sadly, many will eventually surrender and fold back into the soil upon which they were built, taking their stories with them."

“Vanish documents the stories and structures of rural America, speaking to their resilience and identity, inviting us to see these threatened and disappearing structures through a different lens and urging us to protect what remains,” says Adirondack Architectural Heritage Executive Director Erin Tobin.

“LPCA is proud to provide a platform for presenting partners like AARCH to share their work with the local community. It’s especially fulfilling to host programs like this one that touch on a topic relevant to residents in our rural North Country, giving audiences a chance to engage with art that can expand and enlighten their perspective in a meaningful way,” says Lake Placid Center for the Arts Executive Director James Lemon.