Latinos Find Home Through Photography

*A poignant question put to immigrants: *”Why are you always dreaming of going back and not living in the present?” The idea is that the immigrant lives in an imaginary space, dreaming of returning, but never really arriving. Then they put a camera in their hands … VL

By Dominique Lemoine, Feetin2Worlds

“When I moved to New York, photography made me, slowly but surely, feel at home,” says Argentinean artist Sol Aramendi. She leads Project Luz, a Queen-based photography workshop designed to help Latino immigrants connect to the city and their new community through the lens of a camera. “And just like photography helped me arrive, I wanted to do the same thing for other immigrants.”

One photo at a time, Project Luz’s students learn how to share their stories and everyday experiences through visual storytelling.

Luisa Simbaña left her home country of Ecuador more than a decade ago, but it wasn’t until recently that she started to feel truly at home in New York City. Thanks to Project Luz, Luisa started to explore New York through the lens of a camera and make the city her own.

This is her story.

Here & Now: Finding Home Through Photography by Dominique Lemoine from Dominique Lemoine on Vimeo.

Fi2W is supported by the David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation, the Ralph E. Odgen Foundation, and the Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation.

This article was originally published in Feetin2Worlds.

Dominique Lemoine is a NYC-based freelance writer from Colombia. Her work has appeared in Saveur, The New York Daily News, WAMC Northeast Public Radio and Esquire, among other publications.

[Screenshot courtesy of Dominique Lemoine/Here & Now]

Subscribe today!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Must Read