The Safe Harbors Ann Street Gallery presents Photographers for Hope – Newburgh Revival, an exhibition highlighting the City of Newburgh in a collection of documentary photographs by the international collective Photographers for Hope. The exhibition opening and artist reception will be held on Saturday, December 12 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Photographers for Hope, an informal collective of professional photographers, channel the common drive of photographers for compelling stories with their mission to use the power of images to support positive social change. The collective has previously worked and found inspiration in the slums of Brazil, the streets of Bangladesh and forest in Indonesia. But for this project, they chose Newburgh because they wanted to turn their lens on a historic city that is rebuilding itself. So, late in September, this team of nine international photographers from seven different countries, as far away as Hong Kong, Geneva, and India, spent a week in the City of Newburgh documenting its people, architecture, and events. This would become a marathon shooting of over 30,000 photos taken in a period of just ten days. The photographers combed the City of Newburgh, capturing images that bring to life stories of entrepreneurship, struggle, and resilience, giving voice to a community that believes they can change the trajectory of its history.

As world-renowned photographer and member of the collective David Burnett explains: “In the four years I have lived in Newburgh, it has always been a nice place to come back to from an out-of-town or out-of-country trip. Often when returning, one of my cousins here would pester me about always going somewhere else to take photographs. Why didn’t I do something here?” Finally I approached the group who I have worked with since its inception, and to my surprise, everyone loved the idea.”

This collection of photographs chronicled by the Photographers for Hope during the ten day shoot, resulted in the Newburgh Revival exhibit, a story of a community that is struggling but on the mend, and the people who live here that are determined to create a better future for their families.

“This is an important story to tell. Currently, the rhetoric in America seems to be “American Cities on the Decline”. Positive stories of cities making a comeback are rarely told in the press,” said Anna Wang, the founder of Photographers for Hope. “Our project is not about shining a positive light on the city; it’s about the real story on the ground. It’s about people who want to do right by their children, and not just their kids, all of the kids in a community. Newburgh is a city that has been quietly doing soul searching and building up a groundswell of change. We were really moved by what we saw.”

The Newburgh Revival exhibition runs through to Saturday, February 13, 2016.

For more information contact Virginia Walsh at (845) 784-1146 or vwalsh@annstreetgallery.org.

The gallery is located at 104 Ann Street, Newburgh, NY.

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(closed for lunch 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.)
Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Newburgh Last Saturdays of each month 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.