The photography of Barbara McKenzie presented by Chunklet Music Preservation Project.

Opening Reception: Third Thursday, August 20th, 2026 6:00 – 9:00 pm

With special music guests Bizner!

April 1979. The Tone Tones and Pylon play on the third floor of the Myers Building in a clandestine space called the 40 Watt Club. Electricity for the venue was shanghaied from a local power line via an extension cord fed out to College Ave, and hippies, hipsters, and high schoolers commingled freely at this venue above where the Grill presently resides.
Tyrone’s O.C. hosted Pylon along with Atlanta newcomers the Basics. Some at the show dressed up, many didn’t, and in the case of Ort, he just brought a book and studiously read in the center of the floor. Feather boas, toy saxophones, police uniforms, German helmets, and campy sunglasses abound.

Enter Barbara McKenzie.

By 1979, Barbara McKenzie was in her second decade of living and teaching in Athens. She taught legions of underclassmen the nuts ’n’ bolts of using a camera under any circumstance: low light, no light, high speed. Barbara persistently carried her camera everywhere, shooting the ephemeral diaspora with an unsparingly intuitive photojournalistic eye.

Ground Zero Athens is the debut of photos shot by Barbara McKenzie that have never been seen before. Barbara’s photos focus largely on the audience, displaying her keen sense of the calamity of the moment. The Chunklet Music Preservation Project, along with Athica, is proud to host this exhibit at 675 Pulaski, kicking it off with a grand opening from 6 to 9 p.m. on August 20. The exhibit is free and open to the public and will be up until September 27.