If you happened to have been in New London Connecticut in 2006, you would have been struck by a public art exhibit in which 115 monumental portraits of its ordinary citizens were shown throughout the city streets—covering the walls of the train station, bus kiosks, the library and post office. This was the New London Project and the brainchild of photographer Joe Standart. Joe, a highly successful commercial photographer, believed deeply that art could be a catalyst for community engagement. He founded the organization Portrait of America…through which he could create public art initiatives that would test that belief. The New London Project was its first project and an immediate hit. It was eventually seen by over 700,000 people and drew attention to new London’s young art scene. Just as importantly, it brought New London’s residents together—suddenly, everyone was a neighbor.
Standart has gone to do similar projects in Hartford and Litchfield—with equally successful results. And now, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the New London Project, he’s returned to that city with another yet public art project : WE ARE- A Nation of Immigrants. New London has richly diverse immigrant communities, and like many small towns across the country,its downtown has a raft of empty storefronts. Joe Standart decided this time he would focus his exhibit on immigrants, and use the empty-store front windows of New London as his gallery