Echoes of Inwood
CAW Multimedia Youth Apprentices Alison Martinez, Amiri Francis, and Anderlys Santos filming outside Dyckman Farmhouse, the last-standing farmhouse on the Island of Manhattan
A short documentary by a team of CAW Youth Apprentices captures the essence of a neighborhood in flux.
CAW Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training Jonathan Hyman and Youth Apprentice Madison Howard review potential images for animations
In a small room at Inwood Community Services, a longstanding partner of Creative Art Works, Youth Apprentice (YA) Madison Howard leans over printouts of a dozen photos spread across a conference room table. The images show a deep familiarity with Inwood in all its urban charm. There are photos of open fire hydrants, Canadian geese on the banks of the Hudson River, men getting a trim at the local barber shop, the towering wall of canned goods at Dan’s Supermarket, the proud face of a local abuelita, and a mosaic of bottle caps pressed into the dirt outside a local bodega.
“I feel like these show the beauty of Inwood,” Madison says. “I thought the cans were pretty; I think all the skylines and buildings, they're all beautiful, so I wanted to use them. I thought the bottle caps were pretty – one person might look at it on the street and be like, ‘Oh, this is trash, whatever!’ But I want to turn it into something that's appreciated for its beauty.”
Madison is part of a team of YAs working on an oral history documentary about Inwood, a small neighborhood at the very northern tip of Manhattan. The neighborhood, like many others in New York City, is in a state of flux. As our YAs have conducted both formal and on-the-street interviews, they’ve heard the concerns of Inwood residents which include gentrification, affordable housing, climate change, and a recent rezoning plan.
The project is part of CAW Public Art Youth Employment program that gives full-time summer jobs to NYC youth between the ages of 16 and 24. The YAs are guided by Teaching Artists Amrita Singh and Kevin Claiborne, and Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training Jonathan Hyman. The Teaching Artists have backgrounds in education and maintain an art practice. Jonathan is one of three former YAs who have been promoted from within because of their demonstrated leadership skills.
“I feel like what makes Inwood unique is the people: how they interact with each other, how they talk about the neighborhood, the different organizations that are here to build the community like Inwood Art Works and Inwood Community Services. They are all here working to make the community better.”
Madison Howard holds up her favorite photo from the summer — a car that seems to float on the mist from an open fire hydrant
“Our video is focused on change,” says YA Omar Martinez. “But Inwood has changed all throughout its existence. I feel like it is a very nuanced conversation to have, because on the one hand, you do see the good of it. There are nicer amenities being built, like the new library. You have a lot of chain businesses coming into the area and all that is poised to spur economic growth. On the other hand, is this economic growth going to necessarily mean that the culture is going to change? Is what makes Inwood unique going to go away within the next ten years?”
Omar Martinez jamming on editing
“Obviously, this documentary is specific to Inwood, but I don’t think the themes that we’re exploring and the things that people are talking about in the interviews are specific to this area.”
The documentary team benefits from insider knowledge provided by several YAs who live in the neighborhood or have relatives here. One such insider is Gilson Melo. His parents have lived in Inwood since moving there from the DR after college, and Gilson himself was born at the Allen Pavilion, a branch of New York Presbyterian Hospital on the edge of the Harlem River. Gilson describes Inwood as a calm, tightly knit, neighborhood.
When asked how much material didn’t make it into the final cut, Gilson summed it in two words: “A lot. We met so many people, some people I knew, but we had to cut out a lot, because the film had to be 20 minutes or less.”
“There’s an abundance of green areas in Inwood. Growing up, I never really noticed I lived in a city, because I’ve always been surrounded by so much life: bees, trees, raccoons. It’s a real urban jungle.”
Gilson Melo walking with his cousin at Dyckman Street Marina on the Hudson side of Inwood
Another YA insider is Chris Brown, who spent his childhood summers visiting a local uncle and whiling away “days and hours” playing Palace, a card game that, while not unique to Inwood, is prevalent there. Chris says he likes the openness of the people, the food, the music, and that the history of Inwood has not been erased yet. This sort of familiarity with the local culture has allowed the Inwood documentary team to coax candid interviews out of local residents.
A self-described “extroverted introvert,” Chris says that conducting interviews with strangers is helping him, “become comfortable with the uncomfortable.” He says, I've been very shy. I shied away from using the camera a lot. I shied away from teamwork a lot. And I don't consider myself a very social person, so working here has allowed me to move outside my comfort zone.”
CAW Youth Apprentice Chris Brown (left) conducting a street interview
“I think the message of our film is universal. By the end, I think we make it clear that change is not just happening in Inwood, it’s really happening everywhere. The people who live here now were the gentrifiers at one point. And the people before us were also gentrifiers. So, as long as we make it clear that this is just what happens, it’s going to be a universal message.”
Watch our World Premiere!
The short documentary “Echoes of Inwood” premiered on Thursday, August 15th, from 3:30 – 4:30 PM at The Forum at Columbia University, 601 West 125th Street in West Harlem. The entire presentation, including a lively Q&A session, is available to view for free and is linked below. Just want to skip ahead to the film? Here’s a link to the movie on our Vimeo page.
The Creative Team poses at the Columbia University Forum after the world premier of "Echoes of Inwood." Standing from left: Teaching Artist Kevin Claiborne, Madison Howard, Chidera Okeke, Amiri Francis, Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training Jonathan Hyman, Lucas Colón, Omar Martinez, Trevor Mao, Jonathan Perdomo, Edward Vest, Jakilah Greene, Brianna Blyden, John Cobena, Anderlys Santos, Teaching Artist Amrita Singh. Kneeling from left: Gilson Melo, Chris Brown, Alison Martinez.
Read Bios of all Members of the Echoes of Inwood Creative Team in the Commemorative Brochure:
A Gallery of Youth-Created Photos
OUR PEOPLE
“Echoes of Inwood” Team
Amrita Singh, Teaching Artist
Kevin Claiborne, Teaching Artist
Jonathan Hyman, Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training
Riki Sabel, Program Manager
Staff
Karen Jolicoeur, Executive Director
Ian Newton, Director of Finance and Administration
Riki Sabel, Program Manager | Teaching and Learning
Donna Manganello, Program Manager
Kevin Claiborne, Program Manager
Ivory Nunez-Medrano, Community Artmaking Initiatives Coordinator
Emilio Vides-Curnen, Operations Coordinator
Madeline De León, Program Associate
Clair Vogel, Development Manager
Scott Lucas, Marketing & Communications Manager
Jill Goldstein, Office Manager
Andrés Piedrahita, Development & Marketing Associate
Board of Directors
Brian Ricklin, President
Andrew D. Levin, Chairman
Steven Soutendijk, Treasurer
Julia Sanabria, Secretary
Lauren Cascio
Mosely Chaszar
Scott Corneby
Charmaine Davis-Murray
Gail Holcomb
Cary Levy
John Maher
Gabe Marans
Carol Rosenberg
Andrew Stern
Tiffany Theriault
OUR THANKS
This project was made possible by a generous grant from Charities Aid Foundation Canada.
Creative Art Works' programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The Public Art Youth Employment Program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional program funders include the Find Your Light Foundation, the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, the Ponce de Leon Foundation, and the William Talbot Hillman Foundation.
We would like to thank Inwood Community Services for production space and The Forum at Columbia University for hosting the premiere of “Echoes of Inwood” as part of the West Harlem Community Benefits Agreement administered by the West Harlem Development Corporation.
