Paseo Park Portraits
Four Jackson Heights photographers and residents documented life and stories along Paseo Park from April through September 2024, capturing analog 4x5 portraits of neighbors, dogs and their owners, cultural and political events, and the hands that care for the space.
The images created by the photographers-in-residence show how people use the park and the important role it plays in our daily lives, advocating for Paseo Park to remain permanent, accessible and open for generations to come. The residency also built community and mentorship among local photographers, from students to working professionals.
The photographers are: Damaris Chamorro, Neha Gautam, Shin Ono, and Alma Reyes.
The residency program was facilitated and curated by Jasmin Chang and Josefina Bahamondes and was sponsored by Alliance for Paseo Park.
Damaris
Chamorro
Bio: Hello! I’m an Ecuadorian artist based in New York City. I am fascinated by the documentation of everyday life scenes and the quiet beauty that comes from observing them. I am also driven to bring an emphasis towards moments that capture and define culture in my surroundings.
Artist Statement: The Hands of Paseo Park. My project focuses on the people that take care and work in the community as well as organize events within the Paseo Park space. My goal was to capture moments highlighting the people that may be overlooked but do so much for the community space. The work is characterized by the collaborative labor represented by each individual that lends their hand to contribute to Paseo Park.
IG: @createtheframe
Website: www.damarischamorro.com
Neha
Gautam
Bio: Neha Gautam is an educator, visual media artist, and community organizer. Neha has over fourteen years of community organizing experience. She is a documentarian who is committed to bringing visibility to the South Asian diaspora as well as the social movements in and around Queens, New York. She believes that visual media are powerful tools for creating social change and giving voice to communities living on the margins or in exile.
Artist Statement: As a long-time Jackson Heights and Queens resident with a background in organizing, I am drawn to community. My focus in my photographic work is on community engagement, civil participation, cultural diversity and telling stories about events of people coming together and gathering for political, social and cultural connection.
IG: @resistandrise and @nehagautam_photography
Website: www.nehagautamnyc.com
Alma
Reyes
Bio: Hello, I’m Alma Reyes. I am 17 years old and I’m Mexican-American. I’m a local photographer born and raised in East Elmhurst. I love to take pictures of everything and enjoy working on different projects. I first picked up the camera at age 9 thanks to my dad and have not stopped snapping photos since then. My favorite subjects to shoot are portraits, architecture, and nature. I hope to continue working on this craft and eventually open a business of my own one day.
Artist Statement: Alma documents life along Paseo Park with a focus on pets and their people. She enjoys meeting pets on the avenue, and is curious about the deep relationship between pets and their owners.
IG: @almita.studio
Shin
Ono
Bio: One day, I picked up an old wooden 4x5 camera. Photographing people with this slow, cumbersome instrument excited me. Carrying my camera in a vintage suitcase, I've taken portraits in Japan, Austria, Thailand, and of course New York. I grew up in Japan but have lived in Jackson Heights for twenty-three years.
Artist Statement: I love photographing people. The only thing my subjects have in common is that our paths have crossed by coincidence. Smiling or not, the person's warmth and personality come through in the final prints. This makes them and the viewer a little bit happier and that makes me really happy. I'm also drawn to objects and scenery that fill me with a sense of wonder for the world we live in.
My process is a combination of old and new. I shoot my subjects using a vintage 4x5 wooden camera and film that I develop myself. I scan this into a digital format and laser print the images. This reflects my many years of experience with film cameras and my work as a professional photo retoucher.
I'm very honored to be an inaugural member of the Paseo Park Photo-In-Residence Program. I hope my photographs represent the energy and warmth of our neighborhood.
IG: @shin_ono
Website: www.shinono.com
The residency was facilitated and curated by Jasmin Chang and Josefina Bahamondes.
Jasmin Chang is a Taiwanese-American artist and organizer who loves connecting people through conversation and collaboration. She is the co-founder of Community Heroes, a community organizing and public art project long-term residents in New York City neighborhoods, and a co-lead artist of the Winston-Salem Portrait Project and Hey Neighbor NYC, community engagement and public art projects connecting residents across the city. She is formerly the Deputy Director of Community and Education for Photoville.
Website: www.jasminchang.com
IG: nimsaj.chang
Josefina Bahamondes is a visual artist with a bachelor's degree from the University of Playa Ancha in Valparaíso, Chile; a diploma in Visual and Performing Art Administration from New York University; and a Master’s of Science in Education from Hunter College in New York. She has trained in various disciplines including painting and photography. In 2014 she moved to Montréal where she worked on different projects focusing on her immigration process, including the portrait project Contenders. In November 2015 she was part of the group show Populart, culture populaire en Amerique Latine at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Josefina moved to New York City in 2016 and worked in several art museums. She advocated for better urban design as a founding board member of Alliance for Paseo Park. In recent years she has been working as a bilingual teacher in a public school in East Harlem and taking black & white photography workshops at the Bronx Documentary Center. Since 2023, she has been capturing the city with her 35mm camera.
Website: www.josefinabahamondes.com
IG: josefina_bahamondes
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