Chelsea Market will host the photography exhibition “The Streets of Chelsea” beginning September 9 from photographer and Chelsea local Leslie Fratkin. “The Streets of Chelsea” is both a documentation of the continuously evolving neighborhood captured during the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of portraits of Fratkin’s Chelsea neighbors. The collection, made up of 37 black-and-white images, reflect Fratkin’s drive to seek out people and places that are not posed or arranged. She welcomes the challenge of not being able to control all the variables and seeing what an element of chance brings to the final image.
“The Streets of Chelsea” can be found both inside the main concourse under the archway and on the outdoor dining structure of Chelsea Market on 15th Street. Opening night will kick off outdoors at the dining structure located in the middle of 15th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.
A freelance photographer for over 30 years, Fratkin is one of 500 New York City-based artists to receive a grant through the City Artist Corps Grants program, presented by The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs(DCLA), with support from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as well as Queens Theatre.
City Artist Corps Grants was launched in June 2021 by NYFA and DCLA with support from MOME as well as Queens Theatre. The program is funded by the $25 million New York City Artist Corps recovery initiative announced by Mayor de Blasio and DCLA earlier this year. The grants are intended to support NYC-based working artists who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Leslie Fratkin: The Streets of Chelsea will hold an opening reception on Thursday, September 9, 2021 from 7:00 to 9:00pm at Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Avenue, NYC, on view through October 31, 2021.