Trabalhos / Artworks

Picture The Homeless building occupation in East Harlem, NYC

2009
by Not an Alternative

"At first glance on Thursday morning, it looked as if a fashion photo shoot was in progress on East 115th Street in East Harlem..

“Action,” one woman shouted to the model. “Flip your jacket across your shoulder. Now cut.”

As the model walked back and forth, trailed by a camera, two people holding a large green screen were shielding others who sliced through an eight-foot-tall, chain-link fence that separated the lot from the sidewalk. Then, at about 10:30 a.m., about 20 people entered the lot — which they said was owned by JPMorgan Chase & Company — and began transforming it. They constructed simple tents out of bright blue tarps. They assembled a wooden gazebo with a roof and a sign that read “A place to call home!” Soon, they were joined by others."
NY Times

The purported fashion shoot described here was actually a ploy, intended to provide cover for one of a series of occupations across New York City organized by Not An Alternative and allies working in collaboration with Picture The Homeless. The actions were part of a campaign to bring attention the contradiction and failure of Mayor Bloomberg's five-year plan to end homelessness by making visible the thousands of city and bank owned properties sitting vacant in New York City.

Bio:
Not An Alternative is a non-profit organization with a mission to affect popular understandings of events, symbols, and history. We curate and produce work that questions and leverages the tools of advertising, architecture, exhibit design, branding, and public relations. Programs are hosted at a variety of venues, including our Brooklyn-based gallery No-Space (formerly known as The Change You Want To See Gallery).   

http://notanalternative.net
http://thechangeyouwanttosee.com
http://www.surplusproductions.com