Reflections from Nottingham High School with portraits by Lida Suchy
July 7, 2015 to September 1, 2015
Located in our windows were photographs by Lida Suchy of the top 25 Academic-Achieving 2015 seniors from Nottingham High School.
The July 23rd reception included a brief talk by Cora Cool-Mihalyi, Victoria Linney and Grace Western, Nottingham alumni, who authored a recent letter to the editor published in The Post-Standard and on Syracuse.com defending Nottingham High School and the Syracuse City School District. The letter received enormous favorable attention, created a much-needed dialogue and was signed by 42 alumni. The letter was read by Nottingham Principal David Maynard at the commencement ceremony of the class of 2015.
Suchy was compelled to create this portrait series after reading the student’s written reflections in the academic honors ceremony program. Each student’s reflection accompanied her or his photograph in the exhibition. In Suchy’s artist statement she wrote, “Many of their reflections include poignant stories with genuine ambitions. Nottingham high school is an urban public school with more than one thousand students. Many come from disenfranchised communities, refugee families, or are first generation Americans.”
ArtRage Gallery exhibited this work in order to bring attention to the success of youth in the Syracuse community and to foster a dialogue about the Syracuse City School District and the Say Yes to Education program, focusing on how the Syracuse community can work together to improve public education for all.
About the Photographer:
Lida Suchy is a Syracuse based photographer who chronicles communities through portraiture. For her work, she was named Fulbright Scholar (2012 – 2014), awarded the Light Work Grant in Photography (2010), a NYSCA Individual Artist’s Grant (2008) and an ArtsLink Grant (1996), among others.
Lida is a first generation American born into a refugee family. She often draws on her background as inspiration for her work. She received her MFA from the Yale School of Art. She teaches at Onondaga Community College.
Lida has exhibited in galleries in the USA and Europe. Her work has been widely published and can be found in public collections including George Eastman Museum of Photography; Brooklyn Museum; Biblioteque Nationale, Paris; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.