What’s good, Brooklyn?
Home of the native stewards of this land — the Lenape Indigenous people, alive and past. Home to beautiful diverse folks from different parts of Latin America, the Caribbean and the world. This photo exhibit is an ode to Brooklyn through the eyes of the Red Hook Community Justice Center JustArts youth photography program. In our 12-weeks together, youth photographers embarked on a journey to document the stories, lives, family and community justice work within this borough during a global pandemic.
2020 has not been an easy year. We have experienced incredible loss, grief and a renewed sense of allyship to rise up against years of systemic violence towards Black people in this country. Families continue to be separated at the border and during this pandemic, many are experiencing forced evictions and food insecurity. Our hope is that Brooklyn keeps coming together to support each other, in solidarity, within all the different intersecting identities everyone holds.
Running for over 10 years, The Red Hook Community Justice Center’s JustArts: Photography program’s goal is to enable young people to recognize their own talents and interests as they make life-changing decisions to become civically engaged leaders of tomorrow. It seeks to introduce youth to photography as an art form, build their sense of self-efficacy and skills in artistic self-expression, build job readiness and life skills, and foster an interest in the arts and awareness of arts careers.
This 12-week photography program was facilitated in partnership with Lion’s Tooth Project, a community organization inspiring immigrant, queer, Black, Indigenous and POC youth to have more agency around their own wellness healing and personal stories through photography and earth medicine. For more information, please visit www.lionstoothproject.org or follow us on IG @lionstoothproject
The exhibition is created and produced in partnership with Photoville, a New York-based non-profit organization that works to promote a wider understanding and increased access to the art of photography for all — by producing a free photo festival, activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers and connecting artists to a wider worldwide audience. For more information, please visit www.photoville.com or follow us on IG @photoville
Thank you to New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Robin Hood Foundation, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation and Senator Velmanette Montgomery for supporting this program.
