2021 Photo Exhibit

Coping with Crises: Surviving in an Ever-Changing World

2021 was one of, if not the, most jarring year of our lifetime. It was a year that left international relations ever-changed, and one that put international politics in a perspective most of us had never considered before. COVID-19 has made news almost every day for the past year, and with a global pandemic at the forefront of people’s minds, other crises were sometimes overlooked. But COVID-19 is not the only life-altering crisis that has taken place in the last year. Increasing racial injustice, economic turmoil, trafficking, and inter-state conflict have reached all corners of the globe this year, only adding to what can be thought of as one of the most distressing years in recent history. With the only worldwide constant this year appearing to be change and addressing crises as they are created, this photographic exploration, “Coping with Crises: Surviving in an Ever-Changing World,” seeks to address crises domestically and abroad. The two talented undergraduate photographers featured in the journal this year each provide perspectives on crises both historical and ongoing. Their images, like all good art, help us to understand what crises look like in their true form, and as such, help us to make sense of them. These series of photos provide phenomenal insight into the crises that shaped global history, and the crises that continue to shape global life as we know it today.

PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION

1. Lauren Stone, New York University

As a part of her exhibit, Lauren Stone interviewed the individuals she photographed on their thoughts about gun control. The captions that accompany her photos are direct quotes from those featured in the photographs.

Barre 3. West Village, NY. December 8, 2018. Dino, 30, Instructor. “We need better gun control.” Credit: Lauren Stone

Holiday Market. Union Square, NY. December 8, 2018. Jemar, 24, salesman. “I have an interest in guns from when I was younger playing video games.” Credit: Lauren Stone

Congregation Chasam Sopher, Lower East Side, NY. October 28, 2018. Amira, 20, Student. “It shouldn’t take a tragedy to encourage one to speak–this is a threat that concerns and affects literally everyone in our country.” Credit: Lauren Stone

Culver City, Los Angeles, CA. July 10, 2016. Wiley, 4. Mother’s views: “We need better gun control. It’s time we stop losing lives to people misusing their right to own guns.” Credit: Lauren Stone

Christodora House, Alphabet City, NY. October 24, 2020. Anonymous, 50, Mail Man. “I think it should be like Virginia, we should all have the right to bear arms. That’s it, it’s plain and simple.”

2. Alessandra Moreno, Tufts University

Alessandra’s photos were taken immediately before, and during the beginning, of the onset of the coronavirus. These photos offer a unique look at the calm before the storm- the sense of normalcy that accompanies life when a crisis just begins its onset.