New-York Historical Society Exhibit: Hope Wanted: New York City Under Quarantine

On Friday, August 14, New-York Historical Society opened a new, free exhibit: Hope Wanted: New York City Under Quarantine. Curated by poet and journalist Kevin Powell and photographer Kay Hickman, Hope Wanted features more than 50 photographs taken by Hickman along with 14 audio interviews with the photographs’ subjects conducted by Powell during the team’s intensive two-day odyssey across the city on April 8–9, 2020.

Hope Wanted takes place outdoors in New-York Historical Society’s rear courtyard (located at West 76th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue), providing an open-air environment for visitors to view the exhibition and contemplate the impact of COVID-19 on New York City. Admission is free; access is limited and face coverings are required for entry, with social distancing enforced through timed-entry tickets and on-site safety measures.

The exhibition also includes a quiet seating area, surrounded by plantings and conducive to reflection, where visitors can record their own experiences of the pandemic in an open-sided story booth. These oral histories will be archived by New-York Historical Society.

Hope Wanted: New York City Under Quarantine will run until November 29. Click here to book timed-entry tickets here.

Photo credit: Vincent Tullo for The New York Times