NYC Salt Artist Danny Martinez:
A Gated Community, Bronx, NY
"Everyone has a story to tell." Those were the words that stuck with me long after hearing
them in my first photography class at NYC Salt.
When I tell people I grew up in The Bronx, sometimes they do a double take. The Bronx is known as “the boogie down Bronx”, “the birthplace of hip hop”, and “the place you might not want to be after the sun goes down”. Despite the occasional negative comments, I see it as the beautiful place that shaped me into the person I am today.
Community has always been a big thing for me. Growing up and living in the same
apartment my whole life has allowed me to really understand where I come from. At the
age of fifteen I got my first camera and quickly noticed there was a great feeling that
came along with the photos I would capture. Besides keeping me out of trouble,
photography allowed me to open up as a person and feel comfortable sharing my ideas and dreams with family and friends.
Not until I graduated from high school did I revisit my teacher saying, "Everyone has a
story to tell. … when searching for that story, look where you're most comfortable and start
close to home.”
I might have taken that sentence a little too literally when I began my first project titled "A Gated Community.”
In the United States, a place that’s called a gated community is usually an expensive area, a specific group of homes with a security guard that keeps out strangers. I wanted to play on those words and use them literally. My version of a gated community is the basketball courts where I have spent every summer since I was about twelve years old.
My project is a series of photos documenting this place. Here I have witnessed everything from barbecues to fights, to music videos being filmed, to kids enjoying summer love. It is definitely a community I am proud to be part of.
The first week I began this project, it immediately made sense to me. I had found my story.
It's the emotions, the bonds and the home away from home attitude everyone has at the
courts.
My friends who never knew I was a photographer coming up to me and asking me
for photo lessons was an eye opener. And I love it when some of the kids say "YOOOOO, it looks like I’m on a magazine cover!" after I show them their photo. I quickly realized that “A Gated
Community” wasn't just about documenting what’s going on in the court, but also bringing to mycommunity an artistic experience they wouldn't get otherwise.
My ultimate goal with this project is to bring the arts to the small community in my
neighborhood. I want to shed light on this diverse group of people and show others that it's beautiful! It has its ups and downs just like the rest of the world, but this community raised me. When A.G.C is complete and I feel I have enough photos to properly represent my community, the final art show will be exhibited inside the actual basketball court. I want people to get an
experience that is as real and raw as the photos I try to capture.
You can keep up with this ongoing project on Instagram @AGatedCommunity
NYC Salt is a nonprofit Photography Program in New York City. Our mission is to engage, inspire, and empower youth from underserved, predominantly immigrant communities in New York City to reach their full potential and develop a sense of agency, belonging, and integrated identity through the lens of a camera. We achieve this through multi-year, rigorous, sequential photography and video instruction taught by artists and industry professionals combined with individualized mentoring, college preparation and guidance, career exploration, employment opportunities and vocational training.