It's a Transition: Faculty Exhibition

Come see my work along with work made by my colleagues! 

The annual faculty exhibition at Moraine Valley Community College's Fine and Performing arts center.

 

Two Years

Little Village, Chicago

6/17/20

Little Village, Chicago

7/14/22

Here are two photos I shot in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, just over 2 years apart. The first one was made during one of the weekly photo shoots I started during the pandemic, which were basically a way to keep me sane during the lockdowns and get me out of the house safely. The second was shot last week, when I returned to Little Village for another shoot.

June, 2020, when the first photo was made, in addition to being the height of the pandemic, was during the period of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and incidents of looting. Little Village experienced some looting, and I saw several boarded up storefronts. In July, 2022, I only saw a couple boarded up storefronts, and those appeared to be due to building renovations. It also looked like some new businesses had opened, some streetwear stores with a youthful presence, a nice addition to the busy street full of markets, taquerias, dollar stores, and stores selling quinceañera dresses. 26th st., the main commercial strip in Little Village, has long been one of the busiest and highest grossing shopping areas in Chicago, and it was nice to see that it's still a vibrant area.

This summer, I find myself doing some much needed processing, as I sort out everything that's occurred over the past two years, and how that's changed my work life, personal life, and my creative work. I'll save the navel-gazing for my personal journal, and leave these photos as a visual example of change in a hopefully positive direction.