Stand
Kevin McKeon | New York, United States
Photographer: Kevin McKeon
Exhibit Title: Stand
Location: New York, United States
In the face of our increasingly politicized and untrusted media environment, largely controlled by the rich, the powerful and the well connected, there are still the streets, where the humblest of voices can rise up, join together in common cause, and demand to be heard in real, unedited, uncensored time.
The photographs in this exhibit span many causes, beginning with the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020-21, and continuing today with the defiant response to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on trans health care, immigrants and DEI. In between, women’s reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, the response to Asian hate, Covid-19 denial, and the rise of MAGA have all brought people in large numbers out into the streets, parks and other public spaces, in towns and cities across America. As we head into an uncertain media future controlled by the few, these public arenas may be the last line of defense for those of us who still want the voice – and the will – of everyday people to be heard.
I’ve been shooting protest marches and rallies for much of the past five years. Provocative signs and banners (often very creative) tend to draw the most attention from photographers at these events. But the challenge for me always, as a photographer, is to find a new story to tell, especially when competing with dozens of photographers at the same event, elbows raised, all competing for that defining image. So, I decided early on that my approach would be equal parts participant and photojournalist, and I’d see where that might take me. Across more than 80 rallies over 5 years, I found my story in the faces of the people that surrounded me – as I marched and chanted and listened and learned. As a result, I hope my photographs communicate to all those who have never been to a march not just what happens at these events, but what it was like to be there in the middle of it; to be part of the experience – to feel the outrage, the anger, the hope, the joy. I hope that when people view my photographs, they gain a broader, more nuanced understanding of what what it means to be at one of these rallies. I hope they not only see the moment, but feel it. And feel compelled to a part of it, as well.
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