Eventually, however, the media storm that descended on East Palestine began to dissipate almost as quickly as the thick black plume that hung over the village — an ominous image splashed across front pages that became symbolic of the rail disaster and synonymous with East Palestine — but Kiger and her lens would remain.

What began as a short assignment to chronicle the events in the days following the derailment evolved into a nearly year-long journey and over 1,000 black-and-white photos that showcase — not the fire and brimstone that burned that frigid night in February of 2023 — but the people who still stood after the smoke cleared. The images, which were featured in a TIME special report in February detailing the disaster, are now on display at the East Palestine Library. The exhibit — ” A Year in East Palestine” — opened up Tuesday and will run through April 30.

“Initially, I came and I did news photography kind of just to show what was happening, and I was here a couple months, but I had a chance to come back,” Kiger said. “The reality was I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t come with an agenda. I didn’t want to come with preconceived notions.”

Kiger lives in Wheeling, West Virginia. Wheeling is an hour drive south of East Liverpool and can be best described as where the Rust Belt meets Appalachia on the banks of the Ohio River near the bottom of the northern panhandle of West Virginia. A visual storyteller, Kiger has worked with TIME in the past chronicling the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on Wheeling’s homeless population in 2021. Her objective of that assignment was to “humanize” the crisis by capturing the day-to-day life of Wheeling’s disadvantaged and ultimately to let the pictures speak for themselves.

John McCoy of East Palestine visits “A Year in East Palestine” — a photography exhibit that opened up Tuesday and will run through April 30 at the East Palestine Memorial Library. The exhibit features unpublished photos taken by TIME Magazine photographer Rebecca Kiger. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

She followed the same blueprint in East Palestine, capturing simple moments in the village that gave a glimpse into what life was like before the derailment and capturing poignant moments that depicted lives forever changed by the events of and after Feb. 2, 2023.

“I didn’t know what I hoped to convey until I spent time here and I spent time talking to a lot of people. A lot of people have different experiences here and a lot of people are moving forward in different ways,” Kiger said. “I wanted to show that variety and that diversity because I feel like as a country I want us to have those complicated, diverse discussions. I think we are all capable of it. I wanted to produce news that was rich and not made of plastic. That’s what I hoped to convey through my work.”

Kiger’s photos embodied not the sensationalism but the emotional authenticity that was often left out of the narrative.

“I think in the times of today’s modern world, the most wild story gets the headlines and we were a very wild story. I think everybody in our community was very overwhelmed by the amount of press, lining the streets and filling our gymnasium and the calls and the texts and the emails. The next thing, you know it’s on TV but is TV the real story? You can walk in this room and you can feel these pictures,” East Palestine Councilman Lenny Glavin said. “They are not just pictures — the smiles, the laughs, the tears. I would hope when people look at these pictures, they see that the whole world can use a little more of East Palestine.”

Glavin spoke on a panel at the exhibit’s opening. The panel discussion, moderated by library trustee Mistsi Allison, followed a slideshow. Aside from Kiger and Glavin, the panel included TIME Photo Editor Kara Milstein and some of the community members who were photographed — East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick, resident Barb Kilner and resident Robin Seman as well as her daughter, Maria.

“A Year in East Palestine” — a photography exhibit that features unpublished photos taken by TIME Magazine photographer Rebecca Kiger – opened on Tuesday at The East Palestine Memorial Library. The exhibit will run through April 30. The exhibit also includes books (pictured) made by village children using Kiger’s photographs. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

“My hope is that when people look at these pictures, they get a glimpse about how complex everything has been here. There is so much motion in these pictures. I still tear up every time I see the slideshow because they’re real,” Seman, who along with her sons graced the cover of the TIME’s Feb. 12 issue. “There are really bad moments and really scary moments and then some light moments. My hope is that all of our brokenness can continue to be healed together and I think these photographs offer that. And I think they are an incredible gift to our community to realize we are getting through this together.”

The project was supported by funding from the Center for Contemporary Documentation. All of the photographs in the exhibit will be donated to the library.

TIME Magazine photographer and Wheeling-based photojournalist Rebecca Kiger speaks to residents during the opening of “A Year in East Palestine” — a photography exhibit that features unpublished photos taken by Kiger. The exhibit opened on Tuesday and runs through April 30. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)