ME Art Community

Humans of New York Goes Global

Monday, January 10th: Caused a commotion at the McDonald's in the Jamaica, Queens. A kid asked me to take his photograph. When I started to, 20 of his friends started climbing over tables, trying to get in the picture. There was a lot of screaming. $1000 in cash was pulled out of a sock. The cops were called. Everyone in this picture was escorted out two minutes later.

Staff Writer ME Art Community ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

It all started with the first picture he posted on Facebook; the enormously popular photography project “Humans of New York” by New York-based photographer, Brandon Stanton, has now gone global. Sponsored by the United Nations, Stanton is now documenting life and the stories of people beyond New York, on a 50-day tour.

His primary project, “Humans of New York”, often shortened to just HONY by fans, is well-known for his portraits of interesting people he meets on the streets of New York. The portraits are accompanied by quotes from the people themselves, giving everyone a look into what life in a big city is like from a personal point of view. The Facebook page has grown to become immensely popular worldwide. Stanton has amassed over 9 million followers since the start of his project in 2011. Here are a few of our favourites:

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On venturing into areas of conflict, often dangerous and typically seen as places to stay away from, Stanton said, “The work has a very humanizing effect in places that are misunderstood or feared.” It’s interesting to see how our perception of a place changes when we come into contact with an individual rather than ‘someone from another country’, serving as a gentle reminder that, at the core, we’re all the same.

Pictures from the tour are posted on the Humans of New York Facebook page and website.