Project Description

The Chapel Hill Works project seeks to document and celebrate the efforts of the people who maintain the town’s infrastructure and deliver the public services that make Chapel Hill a good place to live. The Chapel Hill Works was led by Michael Schwalbe, documentary photographer and retired professor of sociology at North Carolina State University, in cooperation with the Town of Chapel Hill. Begun in 2015, the project involved making over 100 photographs of Town employees in their work environments. These are the people whose efforts and skill help to make Chapel Hill a good place to live. An exhibit of the photographs and a video about the project were on display at the Chapel Hill Public Library in February 2022. For further information, contact Sarah Wagner (swagner@townofchapelhill.org) or Michael Schwalbe (MLSchwalbe@nc.rr.com) or Rae Buckley (rbuckley@townofchapelhill.org).

A slideshow of all photographs is available on the Library’s YouTube Channel.

A documentary video about the project is available on the Library’s YouTube Channel.

Photographs by Michael Schwalbe