BRONX SENIOR PHOTO LEAGUE
YEAR-END EXHIBITION 2020
FEATURING
Carmen Adorno | Virginia Alicea | Juanita Alleyne | Esther Anaya | Veronica Brown | Nellie Bryant | Virgilio Carballo | Dario Diaz | Elena Farciert | Isaac Flores | Margaret Floyd | Lucille Gantt | Minerva Garcia | Teresa Guzman | Elaine Hall | Gloria Halman | Lynda Henderson | Lidia Maria Isaac de Mota | Rupert Joseph | Deborah LeDeatte | Thomas Martinez | Maria Meza | Ninfa Nuñez | Ana Ortiz | Adela Paredes | Consuelo Pizarro | Cheryl Richemond | Carmen Rodriguez | Hortensia “Penny” Santana | Joyce Slaughter | Gregory Sumlin | Phyllis Thomas | Gloria Tyler | Vivian Valentin | Mildred Vega | Carmen “Candy” Vidal | Louis Wright
The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) proudly presents the work of the Bronx Senior Photo League (BSPL), a free documentary photo program for older adults. Beginning in the fall of 2019 older adults, ages 60-90, from the Mitchel Senior Center and Kips Bay Castle Hill Senior Center, attended classes to learn the art of digital photography. In a class titled “Photographing My Life,” students learned how to document their everyday lives. These creative senior citizens learned the history of photography and gained technical skills and visual literacy which they applied to their documentary projects.
Bearing in mind the increased vulnerability of our students, instructors proceeded with the class remotely. Their chosen subjects included faith, natural health practices, food pantries, cooking and caregiving. However, in-person classes abruptly ended on March 23, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited large gatherings and mandated social distancing at senior centers. This presented unique challenges and exposed the technological divide that poverty creates, especially for older adults: no reliable internet connections or computers, and smartphones to replace the professional cameras they used during regular classes.
While some students dropped out, the majority persevered because they felt the classes were a lifeline at a time of isolation, which is precisely why many chose to participate in the program to begin with. During the transition, many learned how to use the cameras on their phones and to text pictures for the first time. Lesson plans were sent out weekly by whatever method the students could manage: e-mail, text messages, or Whatsapp. Weekly individual calls transitioned into group calls that also served as wellness check-ins.
Older adults in New York City suffer the highest rates of COVID-19, while the South Bronx--the poorest urban congressional district--has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in the country. The acceptance of the disproportionate loss of life among our oldest generation seems to prioritize economic health over human life.
The BSPL is a dynamic community of older adults who also face intersecting forms of oppression including ageism, racism, xenophobia and impoverishment. Through their multifaceted experiences students produced creative and compelling work documenting their lives during the pandemic. Their resilience demonstrated that this generation, often forgotten and marginalized, can continue to contribute art under the most trying circumstances. The work of the BSPL students has created a rarely seen record of seniors' perspective on everyday life during a time of historic crisis, one of which the photographers themselves are at greatest risk.
Mitchel Senior Center
CARMEN ADORNO
77
Golden WIndow
VIRGILIO CARBALLO
80
THE PART-TIME TAXI DRIVER
LIDIA MARIA ISAAC DE MOTA
68
ALWAYS LOOKING UP
ELENA FARCIERT
61
MY CHANGING KITCHEN
GLORIA HALMAN
76
ALL THAT GRANDMOTHERS DO
MARIA MEZA
68
ST. JEROME COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY
NINFA NUÑEZ
60
NATURAL MEDICINE
Castle Hill Senior Center 1
DEBORAH LEDEATTE
Positivity & Faith During My Home Quarantine 2020
CARMEN RODRIGUEZ
Memories of the Past and Present
JOYCE SLAUGHTER
Peace After the Storm
GLORIA TYLER
COVID-19 Pandemic Through My Windows
Castle Hill Senior Center 2
VIRGINIA ALICEA
72
A Story Told is a Life Lived
ESTHER ANAYA
67
My Life, Photography, and COVID-19
VERONICA BROWN
Home
NELLIE BRYANT
Dressing Up
MARGARET FLOYD
70
What Will Tomorrow Be Like?
LUCILLE GANTT
Art and Ceramics at Castle Hill
LYNDA HENDERSON
Living in Parkchester, Bronx, New York
RUPERT JOSEPH
Portraits at Castle Hill Senior Center
THOMAS MARTINEZ
Cityscapes of Castle Hill
ANA ORTIZ
Alzheimer’s and Its Many Changing Faces
HORTENSIA "PENNY" SANTANA
Our World
GREGORY SUMLIN
67
Rainbow of Talent
PHYLLIS THOMAS
Locked In 2020
VIVIAN VALENTIN
Homebound Pandemic
LOUIS WRIGHT
Empty Cityscapes During the COVID-19 Pandemic