Multimedia Reporting Fall 2017

Author: c.chojnowski

Final Project Pitch

For my final project, I was considering covering a relatively new “green roof” rooftop farm that I recently discovered in my neighborhood. It is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on top of a now vacant warehouse and is owned by Broadway Stages, a film and theatre production company that has recently committed to renewable energy by creating the world’s first solar powered sound stages and launching projects such as Eagle Street Rooftop Farm. The rooftop also offers farm based education in an effort to spread the concept of rooftop farming and sustainability.
On their website, they claim to be open to commercial photography and film shoots, so I don’t think getting access would be an issue. I have reached out to them and am waiting for a response.
Another potential person I could interview is one of my former teachers, Aimee Hill. She has participated in various urban farming programs and worked with the Philadelphia Seed Exchange, which preserves seeds and aims to preserve biodiversity in general. I’m not sure if she is still involved, but if I manage to get in contact with her, I’m sure she can give me a lot of great insight on the whole urban/rooftop farming and sustainability trends.

Preserving the Past: The USCGC LILAC

Docked at Pier 25 in Tribeca, the US Coast Guard Cutter LILAC looks like any other old ship to the average passerby, but it is actually America’s only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built for the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1933, the ship was responsible for carrying supplies to lighthouses, maintaining buoys and range lights that would guide ships safely through the water for nearly four decades. Catherine Chojnowski has the story.

Podcast Pitch

For this assignment I had a couple ideas:

The first is to interview a subway or street performer and find out their story – whether they spend their time performing because they enjoy doing so or whether they perform to pay the bills, what sort of reactions they get, and so on.

The second is to cover gentrification in my neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn – the pros and cons from long-time residents and how it has affected them personally.

The third is to cover L.E.S. Pickle Day on October 15th, which from what I’ve read is basically a street fair where you can sample pickles from different places around the world.

Catherine Chojnowski: Photoville

 

WAR IS ONLY HALF THE STORY

This exhibition, presented by The Aftermath Project and curated by Sara Terry and Teun van der Heijden, consists of ten years of work by various grant winner and finalists of the nonprofit.

I spoke to Sara Terry, who is a documentary photographer and filmmaker. She was inspired to start The Aftermath Project while working on her own post-conflict series “Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace,” creating a grant-making educational nonprofit for photographers covering the aftermath of war to draw attention to post-conflict issues. She was inspired by the poetry of Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska, whose poetry was incorporated in the narrative. The quotes used in this presentation were taken from two of her post-conflict pieces, titled “Reality Demands” and “The End and the Beginning.”

The project focuses on the aftermath of war and the process of reconstruction that many fail to pay mind to after all the violence and destruction has occurred. In her eyes, war consists of two parts: the actual war and destruction, and then the overlooked aftermath and rebuilding of both infrastructure and society. The Aftermath Project was made possible by grants from various foundations and people, including The Foundation to Promote Open Society, PhotoWings, The Compton Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Meyer Levy Charitable Foundation, The Douglas Cox and Edward Osowski Fund for Photography and Betsy Karel. This was the first time The Aftermath Project was presented in this format.

This presentation stood out to me because it not only incorporated the work of various artists, but depicted various post-conflict stories throughout different cultures, all in very different manners. The types of images presented were extremely diverse, yet all conveyed a cohesive message. I also really enjoyed the fact that she incorporated poetry into her presentation, which assisted in the narrative she was creating. The specific quotes she chose from the two poems gave the viewer a deeper understanding of the photographs and their meaning. Needless to say, I found this exhibition extremely compelling and inspirational.

Catherine – Photo Essay Pitch

For my photo essay, I have a few ideas I am considering.

The first is to profile a couple up-and-coming designers and either attend their shows or accompany them to events during Fashion Week to observe how they are network and work on expanding their brands in the industry, as well as the challenges that they face. I have contacted two designers who are relatively low-profile and both are willing to have me interview them and work with me to get the material I would need for this project.

The second is to profile a Georgia native DJ that immigrated to the US via a talent visa. He struggled for a couple years to sustain himself without documentation whilst working on on his music career, miles away from his family. He recently gained citizenship and is now signed to a label and has been booking numbers of shows. For this story, I’d like to address not only the struggles he faced when he immigrated to the country but also his pathway to success in his music career. I have contacted him to inquire whether he has any upcoming shows I would be able to attend.

The third is to cover the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit, which is taking place September 9-10 at Washington Square Park. This annual exhibit features hundreds of artists, young and old, who come together to display their paintings, sculptures, photography, jewelry, woodcraft, and everything in between. The photo essay would feature some of the artists and the reasons they have chosen to dedicate themselves to their artistic careers, despite the difficulties to break through and sustain oneself as an artist.