A photograph stops time, capturing a moment suspended between past and present.
In 2018, The Museum at Bethel Woods launched an online archive of photographs and videos collected from nearly 30 contributors – all bringing new life and context to the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair. The photographs capture candid moments from before, during, and after the festival, each providing a glimpse into the everyday moments of the festival. The archive captures and preserves the joyous experiences of festival attendees – as well as the less-than-perfect aspects like the mud and the traffic jams on rural country roads.
The archive is a link to the past, a bridge that spans more than 50 years of human history, chronicling an endeavor to be better. It is a reminder that the past still has lessons to teach, and that we are capturing our own history through the photographs we take every day. Photos are one of the truest forms of storytelling that exists today.
