Hira Hassan’s Photos Bring Bronx Spirit to Humans of New York

Hira Hassan, a proud Bronx native and 2020 Fordham graduate, is becoming a prominent voice in New York City storytelling. Her powerful street photography, which aims to counter negative stereotypes of the Bronx with authentic depictions of the borough’s community and culture, earned her a spot in Brandon Stanton’s epic “Dear New York” Humans of New York exhibit that took over Grand Central Terminal this fall. She says the experience allowed her and her fellow Bronxites to feel represented.

Hassan sat down with Fordham Magazine to discuss her work and how her time as a CSTEP scholar at Fordham reinforced her commitment to her community.

Twelve of Hassan’s photos were featured in the exhibit, alongside work from more than 1,000 other artists.

How did it feel to have your work shared on such a massive public scale as part of the “Dear New York” Humans of New York exhibit?

I believe I was the only Bronx photographer whose work was featured, so it felt really amazing and beautiful to be able to showcase my photos and to be included. I heard a lot of positive feedback from people all around the country. It really allowed me to appreciate my own photos even more than I had in the past—to see that they resonated with folks who are not even necessarily from the Bronx. And they also really resonated with people from the Bronx, getting to feel represented within this really huge exhibition.

Civic Duty, Soundview

Did your experiences as a Fordham student influence your work and your perspective on community engagement and service?

Shout out to CSTEP! They were really the first ones to teach me about the Bronx’s history so thoroughly, while combining it with service-learning projects in the Bronx and with other local community organizations. The care with which they taught me about the Bronx is also the care I try to use with my photography—both showcasing all the stories of resilience and how people have overcome, while also really showing the struggles and how people have suffered because of larger systemic issues.

Fordham also has a STEP program for high school and middle school students, so I’ve been involved with the STEP and CSTEP communities since high school. I became a mentor for the STEP program, so then I was able to kind of go back and teach high school and middle school students. It was very full circle.

Chand Raat, Parkchester

How did growing up in the Bronx shape your worldview? Did it fuel your desire to combat negative stereotypes associated with inner-city neighborhoods?

The Bronx always gets so much hate; it’s kind of crazy. I joke with my friends that it’s a full-time job just defending the Bronx, so I wanted to showcase things that go against the stereotypes. That’s not the reality, and my lived experience showcases there’s so much community; there’s so much love and joy in the Bronx.

I think photography is just one way for me to highlight the borough through a more positive lens. I feel like the photos have been a byproduct of the connection that I’ve been able to make with people.

I’m not trying to sugarcoat anything or be toxically positive either. I do highlight a lot of the struggles and the issues that people in the Bronx are facing, and I also highlight how people have been resilient, how they’ve been joyful, and how, you know, despite it all, they’re still here.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Check out more of Hassan’s photos included in Dear New York below, and a wider selection of her work on her Instagram account.

Scenic View, Kingsbridge