Présentation de l'artiste

Burroughs Lamar

Burroughs was born and raised in New York City, (Harlem) and attended its public schools. Working his way through college, he earned a an A.A.S. in Electrical Technology, Bronx Community College, a B.A. in Management and Administration, The City College, and a M.A. in English (Creative Writing), The City College. He is retired from the NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene as a Social Work Administrator. Owning a camera since high school, he began a serious interest in photography in 2008. His project “Harlem: Hidden in Plain Sight” photographing Harlem was directly influenced by Magnum, photographer Eli Reed’s book Black in America provided the platform to teach himself documentary photography. Photographs from this project are in the permanent collection of the Schomburg Library and, in the Studio Museum Harlem book Harlem: A Century in Images. Burroughs was invited to present his work at the Bronx Documentary Center Annual symposium on gentrification in 2013.

Artist statement

Burroughs Lamar is a New York City based documentary/photojournalist photographer. He began in 2008, with an ongoing project, entitled: Harlem: Hidden in Plain Sight, documenting Black American life in Harlem initially in the context of gentrification. Seventeen years later, the project has encompassed chronicling, events, activities, and significant personages whose photographs amplify that the Harlem community is a cultural juggernaut as opposed to its stereotypical renown as an urban black ghetto. In addition, he has photographed a wide range of projects in New York City to tell the stories of people involved in activities, events and circumstances of the otherwise unseen, different and outside the mainstream.