Longtime Bed-Stuy Residents Featured In New 'Photo Fence'

BROOKLYN, NY — Bed-Stuy residents will be able to find some of their longtime neighbors in a new photo exhibit under the Brooklyn Bridge this spring.

The Photoville FENCE, which travels around the country, launched at Brooklyn Bridge Park over the weekend, including several portraits of Bed-Stuy residents taken through the "We Are Here" photo project.

"We Are Here centers images and stories of long-time BedStuy residents, cementing their place as neighborhood icons in the name of resilience and permanence," according to organizers.

The exhibit is among several themes explored in the Photoville FENCE, which includes photography from around the globe surrounding the categories of home, streets, people, creatures, nature, food and play.

The fence launched on April 16 and will stay in DUMBO through June 20, according to Photoville.

Artists behind the "We Are Here" portraits also have several events planned for the neighborhood this spring at Bailey's Cafe.

Monica L. Williams, who did the interviews for the portraits, partnered with the cafe for performance installations through what she has named As Quiet As It’s Kept (AQAIK).

Here's a calendar for the upcoming events:

Sunday, May 23: Reborn’s We Made It: A BedStuy Sonic Exchange. A listening session will be shared online. Curated and mixed by DJ Reborn the AQAIK sound collage combines audio interview snippets from resilient BedStuy veterans weaved with eclectic music spanning the last four decades to tell the sonic story of life after military duty in a rapidly changing world and neighborhood.

Thursday, May 27: Homeward, a play by Anna N. Pond, directed by Monica L. Williams (press and others by invitation only), a dramatic reading presented on Zoom. Homeward is the story of Vietnam Veteran Rufus Jefferson and his struggle to find home as he remains haunted by the invisible wounds of war.

Saturday, May 29: Thank You For Your Service, a film written and directed by Zoe Flowers, starring Sherri Pullam, a watch party followed by a panel discussion on Bailey's Cafe’s YouTube Channel. We travel through time and space with Jake, a Vietnam Veteran. We meet him on a stoop in BedStuy. He recounts his life, his experiences, and the impact of gentrification without ever naming it.

Sunday, May 30: The Natasha Johnson Suite, a song cycle based on the words of longtime BedStuy resident Natasha Johnson, Michael Hill, songwriter, vocalist, guitarist accompanied by his brother Kevin Hill, bassist, composer. Pre-recorded and streamed on Bailey's YouTube channel, including a conversation with Natasha. The humor, passion, struggles and humanity of her story will be spotlighted in succinct musical snapshots in the way that can only be done by music.