The World in Denver: The Photography of Robert Weinberg

The World in Denver: The Photography of Robert Weinberg
Through January 2024
History Colorado Center
Free for members and kids 18 and under, Adults (19+): $15

History Colorado is excited to celebrate the 2023 Month of Photography Denver festival with a new exhibition, The World in Denver: The Photography of Robert Weinberg. This exhibition features large-scale reproductions of photographs taken by Denver’s preeminent photojournalist of the 1980s and 90s and will be open until January 2024.

Best known for his work with the Intermountain Jewish News, Weinberg focused on portraits of people in the Denver community. Weinberg’s photography adds a valuable dimension to the visual record of the Mile High City during this time and displays his innate ability to capture personal stories and emotions.

Weinberg prided himself on creating “people pieces” that connected Denver to the broader world. His photography focused on both everyday Denverites – such as Leonder Taylor, a man experiencing homelessness in 1994 – and globally renowned individuals – like Pope John Paul II, former President Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ellie Wiesel, John Fielder and Dan Rather.

Much of Weinberg’s work concentrated on identifying institutional racism and removing barriers for Denverites. Each of his photos connects not only to a specific moment in time but a larger story that was unfolding. The stories behind his photos are explored in quotes from Weinberg which serve as labels for the exhibition. Now legally blind, Weinberg requested the labels for this exhibition be as accessible as possible, so History Colorado partnered with the Colorado Center for the Blind to have them translated into Braille, along with the traditional English and Spanish versions.

About Robert Weinberg

Robert Weinberg was born in Denver to David and Faye Weinberg. His passion for photography began in East St. Louis as a Vista Volunteer photographer. After he honed his craft, he moved back to Colorado and started his own photography business. In the following decades, Weinberg captured the personal stories that intertwined in Denver during the 1980s and 1990s.

Weinberg began losing his sight in the early 1990s, and by 1998 he was legally blind. It took years for him to acclimate to his new life. He credits organizations like the Colorado Center for the Blind, Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Colorado Talking Book Library, and National Industries for the Blind for helping him learn to live independently as a person who is visually impaired.