Here Is New York

1105 Sixth ave (@42nd st) NYC 212.921.5997
Now accepting submissions

View images from history unframed

Although six months have passed since the World Trade Center catastrophe, much of what happened on 9.11.01, and continues to happen in its wake, remains unclear. The war in Afghanistan, the anthrax incidents, events in the Middle East, in the Congo, in Pakistan and elsewhere underscore the fact that the world is a far more hostile and unpredictable place than we may have thought it was even a short while ago. And yet at the same time, both here in New York and around the globe, we have seen evidence of the growth of a new sense of community and a desire to break down the boundaries that have historically divided cultures and individuals. This sense found its first and most immediate expression in the rescue effort, and in the realization that what happened at Ground Zero hit everyone equally, leaving no one immune to shock or grief, whatever their age, occupation, class, race, religion or standing in the community. The question, of course, is whether such feelings are inextricably tied to the tragedy and will fade as it recedes, or will endure and signal a new period in our history.

To address this question here is new york announces a new exhibition and call for photographs about the impact of 9.11.01 and its aftermath on our lives. Broadly put, we seek pictures about our fears and our hopes and the issues which divide us, that speak to how we live now and where we should go from here. As we did in our first initiative on Prince Street, we urge anyone and everyone to join the exhibition, whether amateur or professional, new yorker, american or citizen of the world. Our guiding principle is the same as it was six months ago – that if one photograph tells a story, thousands of photographs tell not only thousands of stories but also perhaps can at least begin to tell the story if they are allowed to speak for themselves, to each other, and to the viewer directly, unframed either by glass, metal or wood, or by preconception or editorial comment. In the political sphere it is this principle, after all, which America’s Founding Fathers advanced when they developed the notion of democracy – that wisdom lies not in the vision and will of any one individual or small group of individuals but in the collective vision of us all.

As part of our new initiative, every photographer who contributed a photograph to our first exhibition will be invited to come to our midtown location and tell the story behind the photograph on videotape. More details about this will be posted on our website and elsewhere in the coming days. Photographers who wish to submit pictures to our new exhibition may do so at 1105 Sixth Avenue, tuesdays through saturdays, 11 am – 7 pm. As before, we are placing only the following general limitation on submissions. All photographs must relate to the way that 9.11.01 and its aftermath have affected our lives, in the broadest and yet most intimate sense.