09/23/2021
The extraordinary work of five photographers from a class of formerly incarcerated men and women is featured in the Homeroom, a new exhibition space at MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York. The photographers were part of The Digital Media Training Program’s inaugural iPhone Photography and Videography Workshop directed by Melvin McCray, a retired network television journalist, in partnership with the Fortune Society, non-profit criminal justice reform and prison re-entry organization with facilities in Queens and Manhattan. The exhibition is open now until October 11, 2021. MoMA PS1 is located at 22-25 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 1110. The museum is open from Thursday to Monday. Reserved, timed tickets can be obtained from their website https://www.moma.org/ps1. MoMA PS1 was founded in 1971 and is one of the largest art institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art. It became affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art in 2000.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March of 2020, the Digital Media Training Program’s in-person classes shifted to the online Zoom platform. With the help of corporate sponsors, every student was issued their own Apple iPhone to use as a video and still camera. The workshop aims to teach digital media and journalism skills and promote mental health through artistic expression and peer collaboration. The project also strives to lessen discrimination against people with criminal justice histories and share the universality of their struggles through media. McCray created the DMTP in 2013, a Harlem-based non-profit under the umbrella of the Board for the Education of People of African Ancestry. The DMTP has given over 400 New Yorkers free training in video production, photography, and journalism. Columbia University, corporate sponsors, and individual donors fund the iPhone classes.
