EXHIBITION
APRIL 20 - MAY 3
2026
FIRST FLOOR GALLERY
MAIN LIBRARY
The Work of Generations
A Portrait of Family Business in San Mateo
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Work of Generations: A Portrait of Family Business in San Mateo is a documentary portrait series spotlighting multi-generational family-operated businesses rooted in the city.
Six family-run businesses are featured through formal portraiture and short narrative conversations. Each portrait captures more than a storefront or enterprise. It reflects continuity, responsibility, adaptation, and care passed across generations.
Together, the series offers a civic record of families whose labor and leadership shape San Mateo’s daily life.
WHY IT MATTERS
Family businesses represent long-term investment in place. They endure economic shifts, changing neighborhoods, and evolving markets while remaining accountable to community relationships.
In the twentieth year of the Main Library building, this exhibition expands the anniversary conversation beyond architecture and into the economic fabric of the city. It recognizes that public institutions and private enterprise evolve together. Libraries provide access, research tools, meeting space, and workforce resources. Family businesses sustain employment, mentorship, sponsorship, and continuity.
Both depend on generational stewardship.
IN THE LIBRARY
Presented in partnership with the Downtown San Mateo Association and the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce, the exhibition is installed at the Main Library during National Library Week.
The project was created in part to highlight the Franklin Templeton Business Resource Center, located within the Main Library. The Center provides specialized research databases, business planning tools, meeting space, and workforce development resources for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and professionals.
Open to the public and free to use, the Franklin Templeton Business Resource Center supports individuals at every stage of business development, from startup research to expansion and career transition.
THE PORTRAITS
The Work of Generations is photographed by Clara Rice, whose documentary approach centers dignity, presence, and environment. Each portrait was created on site, situating families within the spaces where their work unfolds.
Participating families also engaged in recorded story conversations reflecting on continuity, adaptation, and the values passed across generations. Edited narrative excerpts accompany the portraits in the exhibition.
Six multi-generational businesses are featured in this series, each offering a distinct view into how work, family, and identity take shape in San Mateo.
Presented By
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The Work of Generations is an initiative of the San Mateo Public Library Foundation, made possible through the support of Franklin Templeton Investments, in collaboration with the Downtown San Mateo Association and the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce.