PIKE COUNTY — This September, Pike County celebrates the 20th annual SlowExposures Photography Festival that features photography that captures the beauty, the complexity, and the contradictions of the rural American South.

Winner of the 2015 Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities, the show prides itself on being a blend of art and history. Photo exhibitions are displayed in late 19th century buildings throughout Zebulon and Concord. The settings underscore the show’s founders’ goal of demonstrating the value of repurposing and saving historic buildings.