NEW YORK—The United Nations has 193 member nations. New York City is home to the U.N. Headquarters and also to people from nearly every one of those nations.
Danny Goldfield photographed children from 169 countries living in New York City for the NYChildren exhibition at the Park51 Islamic center on Park Avenue. The exhibit was set to end Dec. 21, but it has been extended until Jan. 21, 2012, to find the remaining children needed to complete the work. The call is out for children from the remaining 24 U.N. nations: Andorra, Benin, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Kiribati, Kuwait, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Nauru, North Korea, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Samoa, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Vanuatu.
The first family to meet the criteria will be invited to participate. The child must live in New York City, be 12 years of age or younger, and be born in one of the remaining nations or have parents born in one of those nations.
It is a local project with a global meaning. Goldfield met Rana Sodhi, a Sikh living in Arizona whose brother died as a victim of hate crime. Sodhi’s other brother was killed driving a taxicab in San Francisco, Calif.
“These pictures made me realize that we all are different and the same at the same time,” wrote Brian Yu, who shared his impressions in the guest book of Park51.
Kevin from Venezuela practices karate. Mandisa from Botswana holds her hands over her heart as she stands ankle-deep in waves at the beach. Luis from El Salvador inspects his Easter eggs. Josef from Syria kicks his feet in the throes of a temper tantrum. Toumani from Mali straddles a hand drum, playing the instrument with his head back and eyes closed.
Goldfield captured the excitement of discovery, moments of curiosity, teary eyes, youthful contemplation, and all the silly things children do.
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