Our world is fighting a battle with an invisible, and quite often deadly, enemy. Struggling to understand how best to cope with this threat, many people have turned to creative and imaginative ways to help conceptualize and document the impact of COVID-19 on their lives. This virtual exhibition documents a year in the pandemic, from March 2020, when California shut down in the face of this unprecedented public health emergency, and through the following year, as we adapted and learned and the world began to open back up.  Stories & Snapshots: Documenting a Year of the Pandemic is a snapshot of what was collected by the University Library through the Together/Apart Archive, a community participatory collection documenting our experiences. Almost 400 North County San Diegans and CSUSM students, staff, faculty, and administrators shared over 600 of their firsthand experiences with the pandemic; from stories of loved ones getting sick, to losing jobs, to photos of CSUSM graduates on parade, empty Southern California beaches, closed businesses, and new beginnings. Over 100 of those submissions are featured on in the exhibition, which focuses on the resiliency of our campus and surrounding community during the pandemic’s difficult first year, and which takes a closer look at the daily challenges and celebrations through our community’s eyes.

Website: Stories & Snapshots: Documenting a Year of the Pandemic