The Area of Refuge: CAPTURING CHANGE
The October 4, 2025 tour is complete!
A day of photography, storytelling, and cultural preservation in Jersey City.
Film scans are back. Now we’re collecting images that show how Jersey City neighborhoods are changing.
Open Call
We’re looking for photographs that document change in Jersey City.
New development, disappearing landmarks, shifting storefronts, community gathering places, and the details people might miss.
WHAT TO SUBMIT:
up to 5 photos (JPEG)
A short caption for each image (1–2 sentences)
Neighborhood + cross streets (or closest location)
What Happens Next:
We review submissions on a rolling basis.
Selected work may appear in our next community broadsheet.
All artists keep copyright. We only request permission to publish with credit.
TOUR PARTICIPANT FILM SCANS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE SUBMITTED.
Multi-Stop Photo Tour
OCTOBER 4, 2025 (TOUR COMPLETE)
Area of Refuge is a multi-stop photo tour and workshop series that uses photography, storytelling, and local history to document Jersey City as it changes. This year’s tour began at the Jersey City Museum of History and continued to Pacific Flea, weaving together archival research, guided photowalks, and hands-on workshops in cyanotype printing and home film processing.
There are two ways to take part now:
Submit Photos: Changing Neighborhoods (OPEN CALL)
Submit 1–10 images that show change in Jersey City neighborhoods—people, streets, housing, businesses, public space, and the details that might disappear.
Access Your Film Scans (Tour Participants)
Film scans from the single-use cameras are ready. Download your scans and submit your selects if you want your work considered for the next publication.
Transportation was provided for full tour participants, with wheelchair accommodations and ASL interpretation available upon request.
get your work published
〰️
get your work published 〰️
FROM TOUR TO PUBLICATION
The Area of Refuge experience goes beyond a single day. Each year, the photographs and stories created during our workshops are curated into a community publication — a broadsheet that captures the voices, images, and perspectives of Jersey City residents.
In 2024, our first edition was officially archived in the New Jersey Room of the Jersey City Public Library, ensuring that participants’ work will be preserved for generations to come.
Now that the tour is complete, we’re collecting submissions for the 2025 publication. Your work could become part of the next edition and a living record of our community’s resilience, beauty, and history.
WORKSHOPS
ARCHIVAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
At the Jersey City Museum of History, dive into community archives and learn how to combine historic images with your own photographs. Guided by local historians, you’ll explore storytelling as both art and activism.
Cyanotype Printmaking & FOUND OBJECTS PHOTOWALK
At Pacific Flea, create one-of-a-kind sun prints using found objects and negatives. This hands-on workshop introduces the basics of alternative process photography in a format that’s fun, experimental, and beginner-friendly.
Home Film Processing
Learn how to develop black-and-white film with affordable tools that can fit in a kitchen or bathroom. Instructors will walk you through setup, safety, and scanning so you can continue shooting film long after the tour.
Support the Movement.
Preserve Our Stories.
Our mission is simple: Empowering communities to preserve their stories, beauty, and resilience as Jersey city evolves through dynamic photo workshops.
Area of Refuge is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that provides safe spaces for community creativity. This project is supported by funds from Jersey City’s Arts and Culture Fund.
