A Vicksburg photographer’s work has found a home at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

In September, Melody Golding donated works from her collection, “Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember,” to the museum’s Archives Center in an effort to show the devastation of Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“This is my way of helping Mississippi tell their story,” said Golding, who completed her work in August 2006, a year after the Aug. 29 hurricane. “It was a humbling experience.”

The museum has a Katrina collection, but it contains only images and artifacts from New Orleans and surrounding parishes.

 “I felt our story wasn’t being told,” said, Golding, a 30-year photography veteran. “A lot of the emphasis from the press was on New Orleans, and that propelled me to tell our story. I did it so our story can be preserved.”

Her collection was assessed by the museum’s governing panel before being accepted. Before being donated, it had been exhibited throughout the state in museums and at college campuses.

David Haberstich, curator of photography for the Smithsonian’s Archives Center said, “It’s a complete study that she did.”

Golding traveled to the Coast shortly after the hurricane to take a family member who had evacuated home. Once there, she realized the full scope of the storm. She began traveling across the state documenting people, places and architectural ruins left after the Category 5 hurricane.

“People of all races, gender and walks of life are represented,” Golding said.

Golding donated 92 pieces to the Smithsonian, including photographs, a streamline video and a documentary DVD. Negatives of her shots will be added in the next few months.

“In many ways, the negatives will be the heart of the collection,” Haberstich said. “It’ll be a more complete representation of what she saw.”’

A Memphis native who was raised in Holly Springs, Golding comes from a long line of artists. She and her husband, Steve, have two sons. Her works are on display locally, at the Attic Gallery downtown, on Washington Street.