Photos from Steve Rosenfield’s ‘What I Be: Jews of NY + honorary guests’ photo-shoot created quite a splash when they hit the internet in January, earning a flurry of likes and comments, as well as significant media attention. Nearly one hundred people participated in the project over the course of one week in January, taking the Jewish community of New York by storm.
The project enjoyed a more formal celebration at Mister Rogers in Crown Heights on Saturday night, February 22nd, as participants and viewers flocked to see prints of the compelling images in person. The event, which sold out in advance, was attended by nearly 300 people, an impressive number considering the size of the venue, which was filled to capacity. A total of 225 tickets were sold, in addition to the special guests and family members who attended the gala.
“It feels great that the event sold out,” commented Mati Engel, who organized the What I Be photo-shoot of the Jews of New York along with Stern College student Dasha Sominski. “I wish there was room for more people to come quite honestly, but then again we didn’t want to lose the intimate feeling, so this venue was nicely sized to maintain that.”
Sominski, who wanted the event to include everyone, had initially been concerned about the event inadvertently seeming exclusive and limited to the participants of the project. “But in the end, everyone who really wanted to was able to attend,” Sominski stated, finding it “gratifying and rewarding” to know that so many people wanted to be involved in the event. The proliferation of excited Facebook posts attested to the enthusiasm many had for the project and the event.
Mister Rogers, a photography studio and event space that is owned by Ruvi Lieder (who generously allowed it to be used for the event for free), featured a modest-size gallery visible through the glass window of the storefront. All of the images created during this chapter of the What I Be project were on display along with the personal statements written by some of the participants. During the first part of the evening, guests mingled in the gallery and enjoyed the wine reception as they absorbed the images and the messages behind them. Watching participants coming face-to-face with their images and taking in the feelings that this meaningful experience produced could not compare to simply viewing the images online.
Engel and Sominski highlighted the unity of the crowd and the strong sense of dignity and respect involved in the experience of viewing the images as a community. “I think for the first time I really fathomed how incredibly meaningful this experience was for people,” Engel said. “To see 90 images of people shedding away layers was an incredible sight. A true accomplishment. I also sensed a strong sense of dignity and respect in the room with all the images.”
A spacious brick-walled back room provided the setting for the second half of the evening, consisting of a documentary screening on the What I Be process and a concert celebrating this gallery of portraits, with performances by Trevor Hall, Swear and Shake, and Maya Isacowitz.
The documentary, which was created by Elisheva Engel, the younger sister of Mati Engel, emphasized the creation of the project. Elisheva, who witnessed the project’s development and participated in it herself, recorded the project’s process and the participants’ experiences. “Going in I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted the documentary to look like,” Elisheva admitted, “but as time went on and I got a better understanding of the project and its power, I decided to make it a meaningful piece that would stir those same emotions I felt on the set of the project.” She highlighted the nerves, hesitations and excitement that went into participating, conducting individual interviews with participants after the photo-shoots had concluded. “The film is all truthful, which makes it all the more powerful,” Elisheva explained. The documentary will soon be available for viewing online as well for those who were unable to attend the event.
The success of the event went beyond even what its organizers expected, creating an opportunity to go further with this project and make the most of the inspiring message that it brings to the public. In addition to the documentary, which will be released to the public soon, Engel and Sominski are in the planning stages of their next step of action: an organization run by students for students that seeks to create safe spaces for young Jews to interact with art on a more intimate level. While most of the proceeds from ticket sales went towards creating the event, the remaining amount will be used as the base capital for the new organization. “It was important for me and Mati that the project itself wouldn’t just burn out after it’s done and would translate into something meaningful,” Sominski explained.
Although this chapter of the project culminated in the wildly successful celebration at Mister Rogers and will not be moving further in its current form for the Jews of NY, Sominski and Engel are interested in going further with the idea behind it: of a community producing meaningful things and coming together to create innovative platforms of expression.
Judging by the success of the ‘What I Be: Jews of NY’ celebration, they are quite certainly succeeding thus far.