Fan Chen’s project is an exploration of the Chinese American seniors in East Harlem. Decade-long NYCHA residents, the seniors formed a community in the predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhood. Chen would spend days on end with them: waiting at the social security office, gardening in their yards, dancing outdoors in the parks, eating dinners in their homes. Through these interactions, Chen has created work that highlights people’s daily lives and challenges, along with racial and cultural intersections in this neighborhood.
This project received the
Corky Lee Fellowship in Photojournalism and was exhibited in Chinatown, New York in 2022.
Executive editor: An Rong Xu