Caleb Stein

Down by the Hudson (2016-19) is an intimate look at my life in Poughkeepsie, a small town in upstate New York. For almost four years I photographed along the city’s Main Street. I walked the same streets hundreds of times, drawn by the street’s character and mystery. With time I branched out and began photographing at an Edenic watering hole on the outskirts of town. Many different types of people congregated in this serene space, all with the common goal of cooling off and calming down. It struck me as a truly democratic, almost utopian space worthy of a photographic embrace. Time after time I returned to these same locations because they capture something about the struggles and beauties of this small town. In this tense political moment, Down by the Hudson reflects my search for an American- ness. With time and through photographing I begin to question whether that ever even existed.

An introductory text by the writer Amitava Kumar (author of 'Immigrant, Montana and 'Lunch with a Bigot, among other novels) can be viewed on my website (link provided in application form).

Website http://caleb-stein.squarespace.com