Jon Lowenstein

Jon Lowenstein specializes in long-term, in-depth documentary explorations that confront the realms of power, poverty, and social vi…

Chicago

About South Side

The South Side of Chicago is one of America’s most publicized and least understood places. It is arguably the country’s largest and culturally richest African American community. It is also at the center of Chicago’s current epidemic of gun violence. It is the home of Barack and Michelle Obama, and it is disappearing, with disinvestment and a mass exodus of its population. For the two decades that I’ve made the South Side my home, I’ve documented life there through photographs and moving images, through oral histories and found ephemera. During this time, I have witnessed the systematic and ongoing deconstruction of many South Side’s communities, along with the ensuing struggle by residents there to maintain order. My Project aims to better understand and share with the world the South Side that I know, with all of its complexity and fullness, beauty and resilience.