The social issue I decided to choose Gentrification. Gentrification is a very serious and heavily overlooked issue especially in POC/Black dominating states/cities. Such as New York, Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta. Gentrification is pushing wealthier housing/accomadating the wealthy by pushing, ‘improving’, and taking over poor urban areas. This effect is indeed harmful as many lose their generational home to someone with a much higher income. More harms of it, is the lost of culture and originality as Brooklyn loses it’s graffiti, food, and people. Native New Yorkers fight day to day in this concrete jungle from working and living stably to now worrying about if their home is even permanent. New York City disrespects not only their own people but the culture as we stand the most diverse and cultured state. This hits home to me because I grew up in Bed-Stuy and seen the drastic changes of faces to charges of the MTA. It’s ridiculous. I am extremely passionate about my neighborhood but New York City overall.
Gentrification can be seen in plain sight. From a brownstone to some modern black tech flat next to it. To singing and barbecuing to losing our parks to accomodate dogs. Imagine losing your neighborhood park to accomodate some dogs. Exactly. This is outraging and disheartening and with this project, not only do I want to take it extra serious but would like to present it to the streets of New York. New York City isn’t for the weak or tourists with dreams. New york City is the city where rough diamonds hustle and struggle to shine. Gentrification is industrial erasure of POC/Black struggles and homes in NYC. NYC shouldn’t be on sale for the first place. Therefore, I want to stop the romanticization of New York.
Gentrification is a serious issue and hopefully you can use the results of this project.
The image that stands out to me from your statement is the idea of losing one’s park to dogs.
You were saying you did not want to use a painting so what about a famous photo? I thought of the Abby Road cover because it shows a street in London. It depends who you can get to model for you but I could imagine several ways to take off on this photo. One might be proud confident community members crossing the street on the theme of we aren’t going away or four community members walking one way and four gentrifiers the other. Or unequal numbers.
There is also a famous Mohamad Ali photo where he just knocked out someone.That is another direction entirely but would capture some of the anger in your statement.