Homeroom is a new program at MoMA PS1 that was initiated to amplify and celebrate artists who work with our collaborators and partnership initiatives, who are the authors of each activation in this space. Recalling the histories of the building as the first school in Long Island City and then a site for creative experimentation since PS1’s founding in 1976, Homeroom offers opportunities to connect with others, to learn and unlearn, and to imagine ways of being that prioritize care and reciprocity.
Queensbridge Photo Collective: Still like Air I'll Rise
June 2 – September 23
The Queensbridge Photo Collective activates Homeroom with Still, Like Air I’ll Rise, which takes its name from Maya Angelou’s poem reflecting on hope and perseverance in the face of racial and class-based discrimination.
Utilizing photography, archival research, memorabilia, and oral histories, the activation centers the lives of the Collective members, who all grew up in the neighborhoods around PS1. In residence at PS1 for the duration of the activation, these Collective members will host collaborative public programs with neighboring organizations and community members, preserving their own histories while passing along their knowledge, skills, and artistry for others to keep and expand upon for years to come. The period between Queensbridge’s early history and the present is represented through each Collective’s member's personal archive, which anchors the entire installation. Their photography and collaborations as the Collective are reflected in a zine for visitors to take, and in their photographs on display.
A fifteen minute walk from PS1, Queensbridge Houses is the largest publicly funded housing complex in North America. The Queensbridge Photo Collective is a group of accomplished women photographers, formed with support from 5 Corners Collective, Inc., a non-profit that works with community groups to teach and exhibit photography. All members are over the age of 65 and long-time residents of the Queensbridge Houses, and a few are also PS1 elementary school alums. The Collective’s timeline offers a testament to the transformations of Long Island City, told through the lens of these nine women: Victoria Heath, Shirley Mitchell, Nafisa Mahdi, Marilyn Jones, Karen Green, Janie Edwards, Hazra Rahman, Dorothy Grant, and Alese “Cookie” Parker. Their personal stories highlight the resilience of community through time, and the role art and cultural expression have played in shaping the identity of Queensbridge Houses and its residents.
Courtyard Coalition
April 14 – November 14
A section of Homeroom is activated by Courtyard Coalition, a process-focused program emphasizing PS1’s Courtyard as a cultural and spatial asset for critical questions at the intersection of the institution, the neighborhood, and the community. In its inaugural presentation in Homeroom visitors are invited to draw, write, and remember experiences in the Courtyard, and imagine future activations of the space.
Queensbridge Photo Collective: Still, Like Air I'll Rise in Homeroom is collaboratively organized by Elena Ketelsen González, Assistant Curator, PS1, and Nicole Rosenthal and Robin Dahlberg, 5 Corners Collective Inc., with Mary Baxter, Project Manager of Learning, and Angelo Hallinan, Project Manager of Exhibitions, MoMA PS1.
