in the plus/space
july 8 - august 13, 2023
opening reception: Sunday, July 9, 5:30-8pm
being seen, part II
ann rosen
curated by Charlotta Kotik
In Part I of Ann Rosen’s portraiture project, Being Seen, the photographs were taken during art and photography workshops she conducted with women living in shelters in various cities in the United States. The women collaborated with Rosen on their portraits which reflect the way they wanted to be seen—with strength and grace—but also reveal the instability, uncertainty and complexity connected with shelter living.
As the Being Seen project expanded, Rosen conducted similar workshops with women who were formerly homeless, veterans, or formerly incarcerated. These women are currently part of a program facilitated by a Brooklyn non-profit, HousingPlus. The images embody a personal power they work to achieve on a daily basis. In Rochester, NY, through the assistance of Catholic Charities, an organization that helps refugees around the world find safe haven, Rosen captured images of Afghan women who fled to the United States in 2021 when the Taliban swept into Kabul. Her subjects portray a personal authority as they wrestle with the hardships of holding onto their traditions while living in a new country.
The resulting images from the Being Seen project are accompanied by personal histories. Combined with the photographs, these stories foster compassion, thus aiding these women to reach renewed agency.
thursday, august 3, 6pm:
Ann Rosen in conversation with Charlotta Kotik.
about the artist:
Ann Rosen’s portraits create a space for her subjects to be proud of whoever and whatever they are, pushing aside the status quo values and judgements that attempt to prescribe who they can be and who they can love. In doing so, her subjects’ pride and vibrancy forces us to question society’s negative views of these diverse women. These portraits allow them to show their true selves, not anyone else’s interpretation of who they should be. Their joy shows that transformation can only come through recognising each other’s true humanity, and thereby forces the viewer to recognize (and begin to tear down) the social and political structures that keep us from doing so.
GALLERY HOURS:
Thursday - Sunday, 1 - 6pm, or by appointment. Please email hanne@fivemyles.org, or call 718-783-4438.
DIRECTIONS:
Take 2, 3, or 4 trains to Franklin Avenue. Walk two blocks against the traffic on Franklin. Walk ¾ block to 558 St. Johns Place. FiveMyles is within easy walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
FiveMyles is in part supported by the New York State Council for the Arts, Public Funds from the New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Council Member Crystal Hudson, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, the Joseph Robert Foundation, and the William Talbott Hillman Foundation.