A GREAT DAY IN ÑIU YOR

A Great Day in Ñiu Yor is a community documentation project that amplifies the voices, achievements and collective presence of Latine and Indigenous artists, leaders, and change-makers in New York City. Inspired by the groundbreaking documentary work of Art Kane and Gordon Parks — particularly their iconic collective portraits A Great Day in Harlem and A Great Day in Hip Hop; this project moves beyond traditional portraiture to construct a layered, living narrative of community resilience, cultural expression and social transformation.

Developed through sustained collaboration since late 2024, A Great Day in Ñiu Yor (AGDÑY) is an artist-led collective of eight New York City based photographers, each deeply rooted in their communities. Each photographer invited participants from their own networks, ensuring the project was built through proximity, care and lived connection. The resulting body of work is shaped by collective authorship - by the community, for the community.

In collaboration with Matria Rentals and PhotoDom, the project was made possible through their generous provision of studio space and equipment for photographers and participants. Matria Rentals is a Latine owned creative space and PhotoDom is a community-focused film lab — together they provided essential resources to bring this project to life.

At its core, AGDÑY is a strategic visual intervention — a deliberate effort to challenge systemic invisibility and reclaim narrative ownership. Through collaborative storytelling and participatory documentation, participants are not positioned as subjects, but as co-creators within a narrative of cultural empowerment.

The project is called A Great Day in Ñiu Yor both as a nod to Art Kane and Gordon Parks’ iconic group portraits and as a reflection of how Latine communities pronounce “New York” in English. Celebrating linguistic and cultural identity; a living document of visibility, affirmation and resistance.