Dwellings - Living Los Sures

Dwellings constructs a nuanced portrait of the changing neighborhood of Los Sures through an exploration of the varying ways “home” is felt and interpreted within its geographical borders. Its power lies in the accumulation of various voices and experiences of home, and homelessness, within a place that is peopled by both longer-term and transient residents.

Dwellings premiered as a public installation in Los Sures’ Sternberg (aka Lindsay) Park in June of 2014. A temporary living room was constructed using furniture collected from homes and streets throughout the neighborhood. At the center of this living room was a television, and on its screen the streets that border the Los Sures neighborhood. Passersby were invited to take a seat and listen as residents living within these borders shared what the word “home” means to them.

A companion audio piece for radio broadcast is currently in production.

Neighborhood voices on the meaning of “home”

Luis – It’s almost like this barbershop. I mean, it’s changed address over the years, but Chino across the way there, he’s seen me grow up since I was four years old and I’m twenty-eight now, so that gives you a sense I keep coming back. And you know, gentrification hit this neighborhood hard, so it’s good to see it’s still here.

Lindsay – I tend to fly over the space I grew up in. We lived on nine acres, so I would fly looking down at the house and the property, usually in the breaststroke. I lucid dream, so I can kind of go back to memories of that old house I lived in and I can go into my old room. I can visualize and see what I saw as a child and remember the music and the smells.

Toñita – En el club, nos sentimos también como un hogar porque siempre estamos juntos, nos ayudamos, compartimos. Si alguien cumple años, pues, se lo celebramos. Comemos casi siempre juntos todos aquí. Pues, también nos sentimos como si fueran un hogar.

Team

Chloe Zimmerman

Chloe is an artist, filmmaker and educator whose interest lies in the experimental documentary realm. Based in New York, she teaches film history and practice at various venues in the city, including Mono No Aware and the Museum of the Moving Image. Creatively, she is interested in the ways in which we make meaning and tell stories — from the intimate to the national to the cosmological. Chloe was a 2013-14 UnionDocs Collaborative Fellow, and is a graduate of the Combined Degree Program between Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Samantha Richardson

Sam Richardson is a photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work focuses on the relationship between subject and photographer investigating questions of representation and agency. She is invested to using documentary as a format to explore these issues outside of traditional parameters or settings.

She is currently working as an Associate Producer on a documentary feature with Turly Pictures and works as a freelance photo editor and designer at Cavin Morris Gallery. She has actively volunteered and worked with Huairou Commission, a neighborhood women’s organization in Williamsburg. Richardson has exhibited her work in New York City, and was a UnionDocs Fellow from 2013-14. She has a BA in Photography and Human Rights (focus in Gender studies) from Bard College.

Anne-Katrine Hansen

Anne-Katrine Hansen is a Danish filmmaker and visual anthropologist. She is interested in how people acquire and express knowledge and make meaning of their experiences. Her films often explore the sensory realms, with special attention to sound. She holds a MA in visual anthropology from The University of Manchester, and she was a 2013-14 UnionDocs Collaborative Fellow.

Credits

Collaborative artists: Anne-Katrine Hansen, Sam Richardson, Chloe Zimmerman

Special thanks: Arisleyda Dilone, Daniel Wilson, the 2013-2014 UnionDocs Collaborative Fellows and staff

UnionDocs Collaborative Studio Director: Toby Lee

UnionDocs Artistic Director: Christopher Allen

2013-2014 Collaborative Fellows: Alexandra Lazarowich, Anne-Katrine Hansen, Arisleyda Dilone, Chloe Zimmerman, Daniel Wilson, Danya Abt, Elizabeth Warren, Janna Kyllästinen, John Larson, Joyce Wong, Samantha Richardson, Stanzi Vaubel