The Newest Americans of Rutgers University-Newark Land in Brooklyn for Photoville

Photoville is New York City's Free Premier Photo Destination Occurring September 13-24, 2017 

(NEWARK, NJ, Sept. 6, 2017) - Newest Americans, a multimedia documentary collaborative based at Rutgers University-Newark, will take center stage on opening night at Photoville-the annual Brooklyn Bridge Park festival celebrating the work of visual artists from around the world. Newest Americans will open the festival on September 13 @ 7:00pm with a presentation of the range of media it has produced documenting the histories and stories of recent immigrant communities from the vantage point of the campus of Rutgers University-Newark, which U.S News and World Report has designated the most diverse university in the country for the past two decades. Based in Newark, a city shaped by migration, Newest Americans affords a glimpse into the world of the newest Americans and a vision of our demographic future. 

The presentation will include short films, photography, spoken word poetry and music followed by moderated discussions with the creators and featured subjects. Featured work will include: 

  • Fighting Chance - a film about how Former Marine Mike Steadman and his partner Gary Bloore use boxing to push young men beyond their circumstances. 
  • Hijabi World - A film in which Muslim Jersey girls from four continents share what it means to wear the hijab in America today. 
  • Off the Rails - A photo-essay exploring the environmental consequences of living off the rails in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood. 
  • Transcendental Latino - a spoken word performance about Latino identity and latinidad. 
  • Notes for My Homeland - a film about a Syrian-American composer who responded to the tragedies instigated by the Assad regime with music, and performed it at great personal risk. 
  • Live musical performance with Mohammed Alsiadi - featured in Notes for My Homeland. 


About Photoville 
PHOTOVILLE is New York City's FREE premier photo destination. Produced by United Photo Industries, the annual festival is a modular venue built from re-purposed shipping containers. By creating a physical platform for photographers of all stripes to come together and interact, Photoville provides a unique opportunity to engage with a diverse audience - a veritable cross-section of the world's photographic community. Photoville returns for a sixth year, in picturesque Brooklyn Bridge Plaza, from September 13-24, 2017. For more information on Photoville visit: photoville.com 

About Newest Americans 
Newest Americans is a collaboration between the Rutgers-Newark Center for Migration and the Global City, Talking Eyes Media, and VII Photo in which RU-N faculty and students work with professional journalists and media makers to share the histories and tell the stories of local immigrant communities. Situated on the campus Newest Americans uses photography, film, podcasting, interactive media, and the written word, to document the most recent arrivals to the United States: the newest Americans. The project is headquartered at Express Newark, a-state-of-the-art interdisciplinary public space, where the diverse and talented local arts community can access and engage with the university's academic faculty and students. Connect with the Newark Americans at: http://www.newestamericans.com 

About Express Newark 
Express Newark (EN) is a Rutgers University-Newark community arts collaboratory, founded as a Third Space - neither the University nor Community it serves. A 50,000 square foot incubator on three floors of the historic Hahne & Co. building, EN is a bold initiative that facilitates innovation in the arts, fosters learning, public scholarship, and community engagement. EN seeks to empower local voices, and imagines itself as a catalyst for Newark's burgeoning arts district. Find out more about Rutgers University-Newark at: http://www.newark.rutgers.edu 

Kimberlee Williams
Director, Communications and Marketing
kimberlee.williams@rutgers.edu
973-353-5262