The Phillips Collection invites everyone to participate in Community in Focus, a community project to capture a unique photographic snapshot of an unprecedented year. We asked you to show us your inimitable spirit, suffering, joy, and resilience, and here are some images that captures those human emotions that connect us all. Stay tuned for more photos and submit your own!
Anna Lovering, May 11: A Gift: The chalk was a gift given to my daughter in the middle of the pandemic beginnings. It was such a simple gesture from one human to another to create a nostalgic memory of being able to play in the park. The photograph shows a dystopic view of the sentiment of a gift while she is wearing a mask outside and is fully gloved.
Archana Sahu, September 13: During the pandemic, people came up with several innovative ideas to wish their near and dear ones without meeting them physically. Came across these posters in our neighborhood as an example of kids wishing their parents’ marriage anniversary by paying students hourly (good way for making some pocket money too).
Stefanie Stark, April 1: I took this photo of our neighborhood park early in the pandemic. It broke my heart to see a lock and chain on the children’s playground gate. The words closed until “further notice” gave me the uneasy feeling of not knowing when Covid would end and life return to normal.
Alice Whealin, April 3: My photograph is a view of a neighbor’s garden near my home in Arlington, VA. The pandemic led me to take more morning walks for my health and reduce stress. I found it allowed me to enjoy my own neighborhood more than ever.
Carrina LaCorata, June 27: Standing in line with a friend with social distancing indicators at a restaurant in Charlotte, NC.
Kevin B. Jones, January 21: MLK Parade, Los Angeles, California
Kelly Paras, June 4: “Shadow of a Dream”: As Black Lives Matter protests grew, members of the National Guard stood sentry over the monuments of The National Mall. Early morning light at the Lincoln Memorial cast one of their shadows over the location of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech.