The Area of Refuge Photo Tour Returns
October 4, 2025
A day of photography, storytelling, and cultural preservation in Jersey City.
Multi-Stop Photo Tour
OCTOBER 4, 2025
Experience Jersey City’s history and culture through photography. This year’s tour begins at the Jersey City Museum of History and continues 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:
Guided Tour + Workshops (TICKETED)
Join the full tour, ride with us between sites, and learn directly from photographers and community historians. Your work will become part of our next community publication, professionally archived in the Jersey City Public Library.
Free Exhibition at JCAST
Visit Pacific Flea anytime from 9 AM to 6 PM during the Jersey City Art & Studio Tour to explore work from last year’s participants and learn more about our mission. RSVP recommended.
Transportation is provided for full tour participants, with wheelchair accommodations and ASL interpretation available upon request.
get your work published
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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.
By joining the 2025 tour, your work could become part of the next edition — 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.
