Stomping Grounds: Senior Seminar Highlights Show
Grace Guerra
I grew up in a city shaped by the culture and experiences of my parents—a landscape of radicalism, movement, art, and resilience rooted in the Latino communities of Brooklyn and Queens. I always knew about the duality that gave them shape, especially for my mother, Angela: the struggles she faced, the life she sought, and the lessons she had passed on to me. The streets in which she was raised were ones she chose to protect me from and spaces she longed to revisit, bringing me along to reflect on what once was with layers of dignity and remembrance.
The posters for this show draw their inspiration from a walking tour my mother and I took through the area where she grew up, Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. My mom, who is by nature a collector, has never failed to preserve the city as it was in pieces. Her collection of photographs, flyers, vinyl records, and tapes embodies the essence of New York that survives through those who have called it home for generations. When we were on our walk, she narrated the stories of the three places that were not only central to her but also to her upbringing: her high school, childhood home, and parish. Hearing her stories allowed me to envision the city’s past while also asserting the presence of people who continue to be an important part of its cultural fabric.
I intend to honor both the intimate and archival nature of this project, including the use of her handwriting, and to achieve this with a black and white color palette that establishes a unified visual language to distill the stories she shared with me. This exhibition is meant to be read like a book—a guided stroll through memories and places, through the lens of a daughter as she truly begins to discover her mother’s New York City.