Anacostia Community Museum Archives

We the People: The Citizens of NYCHA in Photos + Words Project Records

Summary

Collection ID:
ACMA.06-103
Creators:
Washington, Rico, Music Journalist
Yanagawa, Shino (Photographer)
Dates:
2009-2011
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4 Linear feet
2 boxes; 4 linear ft., 3.58 GB
Repository:
An exhibition exploring the varied stigmas and stereotypes applied to New York City's Housing Authority sites and the residents (past and present) who live in them. Journalist Rico Washington and photographer Shino Yanagawa collaborated on this exhibit which offers an in-depth look at how New York City public housing has impacted society-at-large by producing some of the world's most influential and dynamic artists, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, politicians, and thinkers. It was exhibited at the World Festival of Black Arts and Culture in Dakar, Senegal, 2010, at the Gordon Parks Gallery at the College of New Rochelle (NY), 2013, and the Brooklyn Historical Society from 2014-2015.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An exhibition exploring the varied stigmas and stereotypes applied to New York City's Housing Authority sites and the residents (past and present) who live in them. Journalist Rico Washington and photographer Shino Yanagawa collaborated on this exhibit which offers an in-depth look at how New York City public housing has impacted society-at-large by producing some of the world's most influential and dynamic artists, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, politicians, and thinkers. It was exhibited at the World Festival of Black Arts and Culture in Dakar, Senegal, 2010, at the Gordon Parks Gallery at the College of New Rochelle (NY), 2013, and the Brooklyn Historical Society from 2014-2015.
Materials date from 2009-2011 and include photographic prints, over fifty audio interviews, digital images, a digital video commercial for the exhibition, a photocopy of a letter from Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Honorable Sonia Sotomayor to the curators pertaining to the exhibition. Brochures, postcards, and copies of newspaper articles and journals featuring the exhibition are also present.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Washington, D.C. native Rico Washington holds a BA from Fordham University's African & African-American Studies program. As a journalist who has interviewed celebrities such as Erykah Badu, his work has appeared in New York Moves, Upscale, Wax Poetics, Ebony.com, and Okayplayer.com. He has also served as music editor for Brooklynbased Free Magazine and staff writer/columnist at XLR8R magazine. Rico is also a teaching artist with the non-profit arts organization Arts Connection. He lives and works in New York City.
Shino Yanagawa holds a BA in Economics from Japan's Hoesi University, A Tokyo native she has been a professional photographer for more than a decade. Yanagawa has photographed an array of musicians including Q-Tip. In addition to being a regular contributor to Japanese newspapers Nikkei and Sankei, her works have also appeared in publications such as GQ-Japan, Harper's Bazaar-Japan, and Blue Note-Japan. She lives and works in New York City.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Rico Washington and Shino Yanagawa in 2017.
Processing Information
The processing of this collection and creation of the finding aid are ongoing. The initial collection record was created by Jennifer Morris in 2018. Item-level processing and machine readable finding aid completed by Isaiah Washington in October 2019.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Preferred Citation
We the People Project Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Rico Washington and Shino Yanagawa.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Public housing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews -- 21st century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Exhibitions Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- Color photoprints -- 21st century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Digital audio formats Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Digital images Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bronx Park (New York) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Queens (New York, N.Y.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Staten Island (New York, N.Y.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gentrification Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral histories (document genres) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York City Housing Authority Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Anacostia Community Museum Archives
1901 Fort Place, SE
Washington, D.C. 20020
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4853
ACMArchives@si.edu