By taking photographs of the people who live and/or work along Massachusetts Avenue – 16.1 miles that winds its way through urban and suburban communities in Greater Boston – Jared Leeds explores the diversity of the residents and how the neighborhoods intersect. The series of Leed’s photographs, Massachusetts Avenue, is featured in The Atelier Gallery at the Stoneham Theatre in Stoneham, MA, July 8 through August 29. An opening reception is July 8, 6-7:30 p.m. The exhibit runs parallel to the theater’s production of Always, Patsy Cline.

“From the poor, ethnically and racially diverse neighborhoods of the Dorchester section of Boston, through the gentrifying sections of the South End of Boston, through the most prestigious universities in the world in Cambridge, such as Harvard and MIT, and through wealthy, mostly white suburbs like Lexington, Massachusetts Avenue is a connection and division between these segments of society,” says Leeds. Through his portraits, Leeds says, the viewer is “able to experience the divides defined by ethnicity, race, religion, culture and socio-economic status that still exist in our communities.” But, he says, “though there are geographic divisions defined by these distinctions, there are pockets where these differences co-exist.” Still, Leeds says, “The question remains, though, as the cost of living increases and gentrification continues to redefine neighborhoods, will people from varying backgrounds co-exist or will our communities only become more defined by these distinctions?” And, he says, Massachusetts Avenue, is a microcosm of not only Boston, but of many urban centers around the country. Leeds graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minors in photojournalism and English in 1996. He was a staff photographer for several newspapers until 1999, when he became a freelance editorial, commercial, and fine art photographer. He has been on the adjunct faculty of New England Institute of Art since 2007.