Through the manipulation of some old photos, one CT State Manchester professor has shared her family history with the campus community.

“The Living Archive,” works by Dr. Deborah A. Simmons, debuted in the Adolf & Virginia Dehn Gallery in the first floor hallway of the Arts, Sciences and Technology building last month and will be displayed through April 23.

Simmons, who teaches music at CT State Manchester, said the project began with the efforts of her niece, Erica Simmons King, who has taken on the role of being the family genealogist. She shared the photos she found with Simmons, including one of the Rose Hill Plantation, where some of Simmons’ ancestors labored.

Using modern technology, Simmons said she digitally photographed, enhanced and charcoaled the photos to bring new life and detail into them with depth and dimension.

A love of art and history was deeply embedded in her from an early age, Simmons’ said.

“I’m grateful to my father because he fed almost any of my interest,” she said, adding that she comes from a line of skillful men and women whose lives she felt should be explored.

The exhibit includes a picture of her father in his military uniform, Simmons as a baby and other relatives enjoying life.

Maggie Nowinski, who teaches drawing at Manchester, said the exhibit is a special one for the campus.

“In this project, Simmons explores and presents family history as an active, evolving record rather than a fixed past,” she said.

The biggest takeaway for people viewing “The Living Archive” is to investigate their own family roots, Simmons said.

“We are living in a time of history, especially people of color, where they basically want to erode our history,” said Simmons, adding that the exhibit is a reminder of how important it is to know who you are and where you came from.