Philadelphia
July 5 – 29, 2012
North Philadelphia explores the layered history and complex realities of a community shaped by systemic neglect yet resilient in spirit. Growing up in Center City Philadelphia in the 1970s and ’80s, I witnessed the stark divide between my predominantly white, affluent neighborhood and the predominantly African American areas in West and North Philadelphia.
My early connection to North Philadelphia was shaped by my mother, artist Lily Yeh, who led community renewal efforts through public art projects in the 1980s. Her work, and my experiences at the Village of Arts and Humanities, instilled a lasting awareness of both the struggles and creative vitality within the neighborhood.
After years abroad photographing marginalized communities in Beijing, I returned to Philadelphia in 2008, drawn back to North Philadelphia’s urban landscape. Initially photographing vacant lots and historic churches, I was drawn to explore the neighborhood’s evolving story—its spaces reclaimed as gardens and memorials, its Chinese takeout restaurants reflecting tensions and coexistence, and most importantly, its people.
Through portraits and street tableaux, the series reflects moments of grace and resilience as well as broader social divides. North Philadelphia is not an attempt to represent the neighborhood in totality but a personal exploration of place, memory, and the ongoing presence of community.
Daniel Traub is an American photographer who divides his time between New York City and Shanghai, China. Since 1999, he has been engaged with long term projects in China includingSimplified Characters, which explores the transformation of China’s cities through street portraits and urban scenes, and City’s Edge which looks at the border region where urban and rural China meet. Traub’s photographs have been exhibited in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including solo exhibitions at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago and the Print Center in Philadelphia, and are found in public and private collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times Magazine, London Telegraph Magazine, TIME, and Wallpaper*. In 2008, he was selected by Photo District News as one of 30 photographers to watch, was chosen to participate in the Hyères Photo Festival, France, and was awarded a fellowship from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. Additionally, Traub has been the director of photography for numerous documentaries and reports for networks and production companies including PBS, German Television ZDF, and Arte.