New Exhibit Opening at the Museum of Work and Culture

Photos by Steve Dunwell Highlight the Mill Workers of the 1970s across New England

(WOONSOCKET, R.I.) – The Museum of Work and Culture, a museum of the Rhode Island Historical Society, will host a new exhibit opening in its rotating gallery on Friday, August 15th, featuring the art of Boston-based photographer Steve Dunwell.

Woven fabric made New England a success. Textile workers made that fabric. Dominating New England for over a century, textile work peaked in 1920. Half a century later, Steve Dunwell photographed mill workers to capture a fading industry. When Dunwell took the photographs, six out of seven jobs were gone. Yet thousands of mill workers remained in the 1970s, keeping the machines running. Their jobs were sometimes difficult, often dangerous, and always noisy. Each had an immigration story to tell. Like the textile industry, this project began in Rhode Island before expanding across New England. With These Hands captures a special time in a unique environment, now almost, but not quite, gone.

Steve Dunwell is a professional photographer living in Boston. He creates images of New England – its people, landscape, and industry – for publications, for collectors, and for advertising. The portraits featured in With These Hands were shown, along with history, in the book The Run of the Mill, originally published in 1978. His interest in industrial documentation and preservation continues to the present, alongside a career centered on architectural and aerial imagery. His 15 photo books on regional landscape and cityscape include “Extraordinary Boston” and the best-seller, “Boston Freedom Trail.” 

As part of the Museum of Work and Culture’s Annual Labor Day Open House, Steve Dunwell will be presenting a talk highlighting With These Hands on September 1st, 2025. More information and tickets will be available shortly.

With These Hands will be on view in the Landmark Medical Center Gallery from August 15th until October 25th.