Being Seen

A project amplifying voices of women overcoming homelessness, incarceration, and addiction through collaborative photography and writing workshops.

2015 to present

16 works selected from over 60 completed to date.

To explore the entire project click here.

To contact Ann about this project click here.

The project emerged in 2015 from conversations during art, photography, and writing workshops I led with groups of women in Brooklyn shelters. Together, we chose to create photographic portraits and to document their personal narratives to complement the photographs.

The diptych images reflect larger political realities, challenging the historical silencing of marginalized voices in mainstream media. Together, the portraits and stories reshape perceptions of feminine strength, furthering compassion and restoring agency to the women featured.

For each workshop, I create a portable studio with professional lights and backdrops, transforming the space into a place of creative agency. Within this space, participants determine how they want to be seen—choosing poses, props, and settings that affirm their identities and aspirations.

Hear Ann talk about the project here.

They learn to take and print their own images to incorporate into visual journals and collages. These moments often spark powerful self-recognition.

For each workshop, I create a portable studio with professional lights and backdrops, transforming the space into a place of creative agency. Within this space, participants determine how they want to be seen—choosing poses, props, and settings that affirm their identities and aspirations.

It is imperative that our society allocates sufficient resources to those in need, and that the artists such as Ann Rosen are able of bringing attention to situations such as this one. Through her work, Rosen highlights a path toward solutions that will ultimately enrich all, regardless of race or place of origin.

- Charlotta Kotik,

Curator Emerita, Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum

To explore the entire project click here.

To contact Ann about this project click here.