A fruit vendor from Côte d’Ivoire. A drag queen from Peru. A bus driver from Honduras.
They are among the 25 immigrant New Yorkers whose portraits will appear at 200 subway platforms and about 20 other locations throughout the city as part of a new public art campaign.
Portraits of immigrants by photographer Oscar B. Castillo, part of the New York Proud pop-up in Times Square. The work, being showcased across the city, aims to highlight the contributions of immigrants to the city’s culture and economy.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
The New York Immigration Coalition, a statewide nonprofit behind the “New York Proud” campaign, says the project highlights immigrants’ long-standing roles in the city’s culture and economy.
“We’re really trying to ensure that we’re resetting the narrative that has been hijacked,” said the coalition’s president and CEO Murad Awawdeh, pointing to anti-immigrant rhetoric from local and national elected officials.
Portraits of immigrants by photographer Oscar B. Castillo, part of the New York Proud pop-up in Times Square. The work, being showcased across the city, aims to highlight the contributions of immigrants to the city’s culture and economy.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
The effort comes as immigration has emerged as a key campaign issue and as New York City struggles to shelter and provide for 64,000 migrants, who are among an influx of more than 210,000 who have arrived in the city since 2022 . A Gallup survey in July showed 55% of adults in the United States want to see immigration decreased, up from 41% a year ago.
It was the first time since 2005 – following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and amid the war in Iraq – a majority of Americans said they wanted less immigration, Gallup said. Unauthorized border crossings at the southern border are at a four-year low, after a record high of 250,000 in December, according to U.S. Border Patrol data.
Portraits of immigrants by photographer Oscar B. Castillo, part of the New York Proud pop-up in Times Square. The work, being showcased across the city, aims to highlight the contributions of immigrants to the city’s culture and economy.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
“The campaign is more than just a celebration of immigrants, it’s a reminder of what makes New York, New York,” Awawdeh said.
Pop-up photo exhibitions can be viewed in Times Square through Sept. 14, and at The Plaza at 300 Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn until Sept. 16. Another pop-up exhibition will be installed at a yet-to-be-determined location in Queens from mid-September until mid-October.
The campaign was created with help from F.Y. Eye, a nonprofit media agency; The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice group; and Photoville, a New York-based photography nonprofit, as well as the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Times Square Alliance, local business groups.
“I hope that people understand better that New York is made, built by migrants,” said the project’s photographer Oscar B. Castillo, who is also a Venezuelan immigrant living in New York. “(What) makes it that vibrant, interesting, strong is its diversity.”