The Staircase Galleries at Government Center in Fall River is hosting an event Thursday for the “Fall River Portraits: Making Things and Nature in the City” exhibit.

The public is invited to the opening, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the center lobby with refreshments served.

The photos will be displayed in the Government Center Staircase Galleries through May, 2018.

This exhibit was first shown last June at the Narrows Center for the Arts. Fall River Portraits was conceived and coordinated by Dr. Andrea Klimt, anthropology professor at UMASS Dartmouth. This exhibit is a collaboration with Michelle Gaudencio , graphic communications instructor at Diman Regional, Vocational, Technical High School.

Photographers of “Making Things” are students of UMass Dartmouth and Diman Regional. “Nature in the City” is the results of a competition held last winter, with photographers from the ranks of those who live, work or study in Fall River and who see and have depicted the natural beauty that is Fall River’s.

This competition was sponsored in part by the Friends of the Quequechan River Rail Trail.

For “Making Things,” UMASS students were imbedded in a number of thriving factories operating in the city. In their time there they met factory workers and learned the processes involved in making hats, leather goods, precision tools, men’s shirts, soaps and more. They witnessed the pride the workers have in their work and captured that pride in these stunning photos.

This is the third “Fall River Portraits” exhibit to hang in Government Center. This project was made possible by grants from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office and UMass Dartmouth’s Center for Civic Engagement and College of Arts and Sciences, contributions from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, and the enthusiastic collaboration of the owners and employees of the many participating businesses.

The Staircase Galleries at Government Center is a program of Mass in Motion-Fall River. Funded by the Department of Public Health to promote access to healthy food and resources for active living, the Staircase Galleries encourages staff and visitors to Government Center to use the stairs.

The first installation was in 2009, with generally two exhibits each year, the galleries provide a public space to demonstrate the creativity of those who live, work or study in Fall River.