125th: Time in Harlem

Two acclaimed photographers examine Harlem's paradox of place: the tension between the everyday reality of its streets—often contentious, always complex—and the cultural brand it has established in our collective imagination. Through photographs, videos, and essays, they explore one of America's great "main streets" during a time of profound transition. 125th: Time in Harlem captures a defining moment in Harlem's history, as the neighborhood confronts urban flux, gentrification, the loss of cultural memory, and the preservation of community.

Praise for 125th: Time in Harlem

“Photographers Isaac Diggs and Edward Hillel have created thought-provoking work….Shot in film and processed digitally, the photos capture the street with incredible precision. The range and intensity of color in the photographs draw the eye to the layers of depth in each scene….The photographs are beautiful with their many physical and metaphorical layers.”
—Columbia Daily Spectator

"A generation apart, Diggs and Hillel see the neglected inner city in a new light: by combining the 'immediacy of moment' street photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans used and the perfection of line only a large format camera can produce, the artists have created a new visual language. Their process, at once deliberate and spontaneous, reveals the same intensity of scrutiny to the Urban Landscape that Ansel Adams gave to the Rockies."
—Wall Street International Magazine

Isaac Diggs is a photographer and educator. His work is rooted in a committed exploration of the everyday. It has been exhibited in the United States and Japan, and is part of the collections of the New York Public Library and the Walker Art Center, among others. He has received support from the Asian Cultural Council, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and The Puffin Foundation. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts since 2000.

Edward Hillel is a photographer and multidisciplinary artist. He has received the German Critics Visual Arts Prize, The Golden Sheaf Film Award, the Prix Alain de Rothschild, and the Spiro Institute Arts Award. His work can be found in public collections all over the world, including the Belgian Museum of Photography, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the National Gallery of Prague. His photographs have appeared in publications such as Le Monde, Esquire, Fortune, Newsweek, and Paris Match. He currently acts as Founder & Director of the Harlem Biennale.