The Photographers
Ten Photographers, Ten Bodies of Work
Click any photograph to see the artist’s statement and a second image from their series.
Photography is a transformational process. It takes reflected light and transforms it into an image—an object that can be held, remembered, shared, and seen anew. The Bridge features photographs created by Veterans who gathered weekly at the VA to explore photography as a means of exploration, self-expression, and personal growth.
From initial concept to the final image, each of the ten photographers developed an original, project-based body of work. Week by week, they refined their vision, challenged themselves and one another, and practiced engaging with the world both within and beyond themselves.
These photographs are questions, statements, and invitations: What does treatment look like? What is beauty in the mundane? What contradictions exist between rich and poor in this great city? What remains of the music and dance that shaped you? In transforming the world before them into photographs, these artists also transformed something within themselves; creating bridges between past and future, photographer and viewer, inner and outer worlds.
Seek the questions. Consider what becomes possible when we choose what to notice, how to frame it, and how to share it. The Bridge invites you to see Veterans not only through what they have lived, but through what they create, discover, and become.
We appreciate the support of the Manhattan VA, Josephine Herrick Project, the Odyssey Project, and our main program funder, Baltic Street Into Action. Most of all we appreciate the vision of our photographers, featured below.
Click any photograph to see the artist’s statement and a second image from their series.
Interested in exhibiting your group’s work or supporting future programs like this one? We’d love to hear from you.