Photographer Unknown, Six Men Posed with Cigars, c. 1910, gelatin silver print, Burns Collection & Archive
Cigars! Photography, Industry,
and Identity
Featuring The Burns Collection & Archive and contemporary works by Zack Wittman, in collaboration with J.C. Newman Cigar Company. In Celebration of Ybor City’s 140th Anniversary.
April 9 – July 19, 2026
Cigars! honors Ybor City’s enduring legacy as the cigar capital of the world through the powerful lens of photography, bridging the golden age of cigar making with its vibrant present while celebrating the deep roots that shaped the city’s cultural and economic foundation.
Presented in collaboration with The Burns Collection & Archive in New York and Tampa’s own J.C. Newman Cigar Company, the exhibition offers a rare visual dialogue across centuries. Nineteenth and early twentieth-century original vintage photographs from The Burns Collection transport visitors to a time when immigrants were at the heart of Ybor City’s rise, bringing with them cigar-making expertise, revolutionary ideals, and a rich cultural heritage that transformed Tampa into a global hub of industry and identity.
These historical images of factory life, skilled cigar rollers, and moments of everyday community are placed in conversation with compelling contemporary photographs by Zack Wittman, who documents the 25 remaining cigar factory buildings in present-day Tampa and the people who carry forward this legacy. Wittman’s work, created in partnership with the J.C. Newman Cigar Company, offers an intimate look at how Cuban, Spanish, and Italian traditions, labor practices, and pride remain embedded in Ybor City’s living culture.
Timed to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the first cigar rolled in Ybor City on April 13, 1885, the exhibition reveals how photography has long served as a tool to preserve and reimagine the Ybor City story, as well as American history—one of migration, resistance, artistry, and community. Cigars! celebrates not only the history of an industry but also the lasting contributions of the people whose spirit continues to define Ybor City’s past, present, and future.
Exhibition Sponsored by:
