For my photoville assignment, I attended an exhibit with a couple other students from our multimedia class. We attempted to view the exhibit at the East Side Community High School, but unfortunately there was apparently no exhibit at that location. We then decided to try another location not too far from the high school. This time we were in luck. We viewed the exhibit “Community Matriarchs of NYCHA.”
Once we got to the location which was at the Abrons Arts Center, we saw several photos of these women who are all residents of the Lower East Side public housing pasted throughout the building’s walls exterior. These women were being celebrated and shown appreciation for being outstanding citizens in their communities. There were multiple portraits by Courtney Garvin that were installed throughout the outdoor locations.
One of the portraits was of Jasmin Sanchez, an essential worker who was living in public housing throughout covid. Public housing residents were dying at two times the rate, but were still out working to keep the city running.
Another matriarch of NYCHA, Lilah Mejia was photographed at the Jacob Riis House. She spoke about how being from the projects, although challenging at times has made her who she is today.
This photoville assignment was a really fun and interesting way to learn about other cultures and people’s history through photographs and different mediums. These women all have amazing and unique stories and to have been able to learn about them in such a beautiful light was really funto experience. As well as experiencing it with some of my friends.
