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Portraits depicting the diverse community of immigrant New Yorkers are on display near the Van Cortlandt Park track through Nov. 24. <\/p>\n
Photo by Emily Swanson <\/p>\n
A new photo exhibit reflecting New York City\u2019s migrant communities has made its way to the track at Van Cortlandt Park, after stops in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan throughout this fall.<\/p>\n
The portraits will remain on display through Nov. 24 and were shot by Brooklyn-based photographer Oscar B. Castillo<\/a>, who is originally from Venezuela and also lived in Spain and France.\u00a0<\/p>\n The nonprofits New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and Photoville<\/a> collaborated to create the exhibit for the New York Proud<\/a> campaign, which transforms highly visible public spaces with images of the often-overlooked people who keep the city running.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York Proud is about honoring the people who make the Bronx\u2014and New York City as a whole\u2014vibrant, diverse, and strong,\u201d said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, in a statement. <\/p>\n \u201cFrom past to present, immigrants have played a defining role in shaping the cultural fabric and shared prosperity of New York. In the face of growing hostility at the federal level, this campaign reaffirms our shared responsibility to uplift and include all who call this city home.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with the Bronx Times, Castillo said his work is often linked to social and political unrest and conflict, in his home country and others, reflecting his \u201cvery particular mix of lived experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For New York Proud, Castillo said he aimed to shoot a diverse group of immigrants in their home and work environments\u2014 not in a studio. Those featured include a doorman, a deliverista, doctors, a mechanic, small business owners, chefs and a nonprofit director. <\/p>\n It also includes the Bronx\u2019s own Mino Lora<\/a>, executive artistic director at the People\u2019s Theatre Project, who is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Castillo said his portraits show the successes of immigrants despite the \u201cgrinding machine\u201d of New York City, where \u201cnot all contributions are valued in the same way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The meaning of success is different for each person, Castillo said. \u201cSuccess is like, we can reach goals during our journey and keep having bigger or different goals ahead, to keep moving towards,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n When people see the work, Castillo said he hopes they focus on the commonality of human experience and embrace their own immigrant roots.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUnless you are from a local indigenous community, you are an immigrant, from three days ago or from three hundred years ago,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n Castillo\u2019s portraits show the complexity of each person and their engagement with the community, even if under appreciated in societysaz. \u201cWe\u2019re migrants, but we\u2019re a lot more than migrants.\u201d<\/p>\n Working on the exhibit was eye-opening for Castillo, who said he considers himself \u201ca baby New Yorker\u201d after about five years in the city.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Shooting each portrait took him to a different corner of a different borough and into each subject\u2019s personal environment, whether their home or an auto mechanic shop on a Sunday, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople is beautiful in all their differences, no? It\u2019s so amazing to be close to that,\u201d said Castillo.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251119_113756.jpg\")
The New York Proud display, with photos by Oscar Castillo, has made stops in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and the Bronx. Photo by Emily Swanson<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251119_113643.jpg\")
The exhibit shows immigrants in a variety of professions, from doctors to chefs to nonprofit leaders. Photo by Emily Swanson<\/p>\n