CHICAGO — The DePaul Art Museum examines photography and its relational place in time and history with “Histories/Photographies,” a new exhibition of works by local artists. The exhibition opens on Oct. 11.

In its earliest days, photography was celebrated for its potential to create a historical record with unparalleled accuracy. History itself was thought to be one of the new medium’s most important subjects. Not only could photographs document extant remnants of the past, they could also record moments in the present that would soon pass into history. Consequently, early proponents argued that history would effectively begin anew in the photographic age and be re-imagined in photographic images.

Photography’s rich entanglement with history has become a renewed source of inspiration in contemporary practice, and the exhibition brings together the work of 13 artists who take the evolving dialogue between history and photography as their subject.

“Histories/Photographies” takes a broad look at contemporary photography as it is being practiced in Chicago,” said Gregory Harris, assistant curator of the DePaul Art Musuem. “At a time when the tools and practices of photography are becoming less materially based, the variety of styles and processes that artists are actually using to explore the richness of the medium is remarkable.”

Through an array of strategies, these artists record the traces of the past that exist in the present, mine the telling and dissemination of photography’s own history, and engage with the ever-evolving materiality of photographs. Their work reveals that history, and the history of photography in particular, is not merely an episodic succession of events, innovations, and movements, but rather a far more complex layering of recordings, encounters and perspectives through and across time.

The artists featured in the exhibition include: Jeremy Bolen, Alan Cohen, Adam Ekberg, Myra Greene, Shane Huffman, Barbara Kasten, Jason Lazarus, Aspen Mays, John Opera, Jason Reblando, David Schalliol, Matthew Schlagbaum and Adam Schreiber.

An opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at the museum, 935 W. Fullerton Ave., just east of the CTA’s Fullerton ‘L’ stop. The museum is free and open to the public every day. The exhibition runs through Dec. 8.

On Saturday, October 19, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the museum will host a day-long symposium in conjunction with the “Histories/Photographies” exhibition. The symposium will be the inaugural event of the recently formed Chicago Photography Working Group (chicagophotographyworkinggroup@gmail.com).

This event will bring together scholars, curators and practitioners of the medium from across the Chicago area for wide-ranging discussions of the relationship between history and photography. The day will include a panel of scholarly papers, featuring a keynote address by Blake Stimson, a set of conversations pairing artists and scholars and a concluding group discussion of the day’s themes.

The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register, please email artmuseum@depaul.edu by October 17. See more at: http://museums.depaul.edu/news/events/.

The DePaul Art Museum is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 773-325-7506 or visit www.depaul.edu/museum.