Subway Portraits Taken by Brooklyn-based Photographer Andre D. Wagner of Riders in the Lower East Side
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the International Center of Photography (ICP) and WE LOVE NYC yesterday joined Brooklyn-based photographer Andre D. Wagner at the Delancey St/Essex St subway station in the Lower East Side to capture quintessential New York moments of subway riders’ daily lives as part of his ongoing work of photographing people in the city, including in the subway system. Wagner began documenting his subway rides from Brooklyn to Manhattan in 2013 during his commute to and from work, eventually leading to his first published book Here for the Ride in 2017.
Subway riders who participated in the photography session also received Polaroid portraits of themselves and a pass to visit ICP, located just steps away from the Delancey St/Essex St subway station. ICP is a museum and school dedicated to photography and visual culture, offering educational courses, public programs and exhibitions to promote the power of the image.
“This collaboration with ICP, WE LOVE NYC and the talented Andre Wagner brings together appreciation for the city’s artistic culture and diversity, all within the system that moves it,” said MTA Acting Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara. “It’s a full circle moment and captures the essence of this city and its people through photography while they go about their day, whether that’s on a lunch break, to work, from graduation and everything in between.”
“The International Center of Photography is thrilled to collaborate with talented photographer Andre Wagner on this special, one-day project in the Delancey St/Essex St Station subway station, which is just outside the front door of ICP's home on the Lower East Side,” said ICP Executive Director David E. Little. “Fundamental to ICP's mission is celebrating photography's power to communicate and connect people, and in this spirit, we are pleased to partner with WE LOVE NYC on this event that highlights the unique fabric of our community.”
“The subway is the embodiment of New York City,” said WE LOVE NYC’s Lead and Founder of MaryamB, Maryam Banikarim. “The moments of serendipity and joy that can be found on our daily commutes are possible because of the diversity, creativity and energy of a city where anything is possible. Capturing New Yorkers on their commutes, with the amazing Andre, what better way to show why WE LOVE NYC.”
About Andre D. Wagner
Andre D. Wagner is a photographer living and working in Brooklyn, New York. He explores and chronicles the poetic and lyrical nuances of daily life, using city streets, neighborhoods, parades, public transportation and the youth of the twenty-first century as his visual language. His work and practice fits into the lineage of street photography that investigates the American social landscape, often focusing his lens on themes of race, class, cultural identity and community. He develops his own black and white negatives and makes silver gelatin prints in his personal darkroom.
Andre’s photographs have been commissioned by The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Cut, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time Magazine and Vogue, among other publications. For the movie Queen & Slim, Andre photographed the iconic key art and the campaign’s leading images. His photographs have appeared in a number of solo exhibitions and group shows in Los Angeles, New York and North Carolina.