Press Reviews

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The Bronx Documentary Center installation of the exhibit received extensive coverage with more than 50 pieces of press, including in The New York Times, The Guardian, The LA Times, The Village Voice, The Atlantic, Art in America, American Photo, Photograph Magazine, and The Huffington Post.

“Major historic events, like the Tompkins Square Park Riot and the Crown Heights race riots, are placed alongside simple, almost unremarkable moments of protest: a mother picketing a medical-waste incinerator or workers demanding better treatment at a restaurant in Chinatown. The photographs show the everyday political life of the city. In the years covered by these shows, people struggled, lost, fought, and occasionally won against powerful reactionary political and economic forces. The traces they left behind in print and photographs shed light on those eras and remind us that things have been as bad before, if not worse, and that resistance flourished nonetheless.””

– Michael McCanne, Art In America

“Although the exhibition, Whose Streets? Our Streets! was planned as a nostalgic—and historic—look back at two decades of activism in New York, the show feels both poignant and relevant when seen through the lens of today’s radically shifting political climate. The day after the [Trump] inauguration, the poignancy of the work, and especially the title, would be echoed as millions would take to the streets in marches held around the world.”

– David Rosenberg, American Photo

“The cascade of photos both online and formatted in a grid across the walls of the Bronx Documentary Center give a sense of the numbers of people, the momentum, the movement — literally — of politics in action. For so many activists these were life-or-death issues, not abstract principles or ideological platforms. AIDS protests often featured people lying on the ground, or in coffins, to make clear the life they were fighting for. But photos of police brutality or race relations or abortion reflect that this was consistent across movements: bodies were on the line. Activists and photographers taking to the streets will not be new in the Trump era. But this exhibition pushes us to keep doing it.”

– Julia Foulkes, Public Seminar

Interview Q & A with co-curators Meg Handler & Tamar Carroll

– Jon Feinstein, Humble Arts Foundation

“The exhibition features an enormous wealth of material, representing a number of issues with images that are by turns intimate and explosive. ...the timing of the exhibition could not be better. Not only can it serve as an inspiration for future protests, but it can also give us a refresher course on how to effectively document those protests. And, insofar as a protest seeks to be more than locally effective, documentation is what truly makes the action.”

– Jake Romm, Forward

“With the goal of preserving that fundamental feature of American government by the people for future generations, the Whose Streets? Our Streets! gallery project at the Bronx Documentary Center is a beautiful – and extremely relevant – tribute to the awesome power of popular movements. The true heroes are the anonymous subjects of the photos – the civilians with families and children and jobs and so much to lose – who confidently put their bodies on the line to fight for a better world.”

– Evan Glasman, Konbini

“...in a push to bridge generations, the Bronx Documentary Center has opened a photo exhibit that spotlights various protests across a pivotal stretch of time, from 1980 to 2000.”

– Mike Steyels, Fader

“Their images exude theatricality—faces wrench, arms punch, crowds cling, opposing sides address one another in silence. The photos testify to the power of reflection—which reminded me of tableau, wherein actors reenacted painted scenes in silent stasis, holding a pose for upward of twenty seconds. Before the age of film and photography, tableau allowed audiences to sit with an image, to meditate on its meanings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, suffragettes made use of tableau to win women the right to vote. Similarly, this exhibition’s tableau force us to slow down and engage. Now, “Whose Streets” insists, not only do we have the power to record; we have the power to effect change.”

– Madeline Medeiros Pereira, The Paris Review

“...you need only take a cursory glance at recent history to see that America’s most populous city has been the battleground for the continuous fight for rights and freedoms of many. These visually arresting photos offer an extraordinary glimpse into the everyday struggles of brave New York citizens as they protest in the face of the AIDS crisis, the rise of gentrification, police brutality and religious turmoil. Although the images reflect moments of tension, they also capture the inspiring unity in troubling times, and, if anything, it is a much-welcomed reminder that we can still follow in their radical footsteps in our uncertain political landscape.”

– Laurie Chen & Kemi Alemoru, Public Seminar

“The exhibition is an on-the-ground record of a city in flux during two of the most turbulent, transformative decades of the 20th century. It shows New Yorkers from all walks of life speaking up about what they feel is wrong, and standing up for what they feel is right. And at a moment like ours — when one of history's most controversial New Yorkers is about to become the world's most powerful leader — Whose Streets? couldn't feel more urgent, heartbreaking, and motivating.”

– Emily Manning, vice

“With the Women’s March in the rearview mirror and new talk about tax day protests, scientists marching on Washington and more, it’s clear we’re in a new era of mass demonstrations. Just in time,‘Whose Streets? Our Streets!‘’ a photography exhibit, looks back on New York City’s protest during the turbulent ’80s and changing ’90s. The exhibit shows some ugly or questionable moments too, including racist mobs, but the images we’ve included below are mostly images of resistance and dissent, whether in the form of rallies and marches or direct action and civil disobedience.”

– Sarah Seltzer, Flavorwire

“For many young people, Saturday’s march and 2016’s Black Lives Matter rallies have offered an intro-course to the power of resistance. But for older participants, the sight may have been all too familiar. One popular sign from the rallies was, “I can’t believe I’m still fighting this shit.” Looking at history, it’s clear that our ability and right to protest is an important part of our American heritage. And given the current political flux, the new photography exhibition at the Bronx Documentary Center entitled, “Whose Streets? Our Streets! New York City: 1980-2000” couldn’t be more fitting. It’s exciting to view the collection as a whole, as it tells the story of social movements in New York in a comprehensive way. Regardless of the subject of each particular protest, there are shared emotions. The stories being shared are visceral and sensory — as people rally together in the name of a common belief.”

– Allison Sanchez, uproxx

“The photographs...were connected by emotion rather than social issue. And it certainly did feel nostalgic in many ways: we were looking at history; we were looking at analog prints; we were looking at a group of activists in a city known for activism. But there was also a sense of this being a rallying cry: the name of the exhibition itself is a protest slogan; a week later, millions would take to the streets, flooding social media feeds with images of protestors in women’s marches all over the world.”

– David Rosenberg, Photograph Mag