Gallery showing art by backstretch workers
TROY, N.Y. » An art show called Estamos Aqui (We are Here) featuring the photography of Latino backstretch workers at Saratoga Race Course is now on display at Martinez Gallery in Troy.
The exhibition opening, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday at the 5 Broadway Suite 2013 gallery in downtown Troy, coincides with the monthly Troy Night Out festival. All are welcome to come view the show during this event, or by appointment in the week following until March 1.
The black and white photographs in Estamos Aqui are the result of an ongoing documentary photography workshop series for track workers organized by the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council’s Latino Community Advocacy Program. The artists documented their surroundings, including horses and people, at the race track’s backstretch.
“Some of the photographs are quite interesting,” said Laudelina Martinez, who has owned and operated Martinez Gallery on Monument Square in downtown Troy since 2001.
Though the photographers are not professional artists, “They show you what they’re seeing,” Martinez continued. “There’s a kind of photojournalism element.”
One of the photographs that Martinez selected as part of the show is a self portrait by Eleuterio Martinez Ramirez. Originally from Mexico, he was inspired through this program to further pursue photography and is now a senior at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.
“What the program does, I think, is that it sort of validates the perceptions they have about their life,” Martinez said.
Over the years Martinez, a native of Puerto Rico, has been involved in all kinds of projects that have Latinos at the heart. In fact, her gallery focuses mostly, but not exclusively, on Latino and Latin American art. So when she was approached about hosting the artwork from the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council’s Latino Community Advocacy Program, she was happy to do so. “If there’s something worthwhile that someone is doing for the Latino population, which usually gets forgotten, I try to see how I might be able to help,” she said.
The New York Capital Region Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, for which Martinez is the current president, was instrumental in bringing this exhibition to Hudson Valley Community College, where it was recently displayed in the library, and now to Martinez Gallery.
Though the work is not for sale, small card-sized prints will be available for purchase, with proceeds to benefit the Latino Community Advocacy Program, which addresses the special needs of the Spanishspeaking immigrant population in Saratoga County.
This Martinez Gallery show also features paintings of horses and riders by Jakeb Kristiansen, an emerging local artist and graduate of the Sage Colleges.
In addition to checking out Estamos Aqui, eventgoers can browse the rest of the commercial gallery’s art inventory and jewelry.
Krystle Nowhitney Hernandez, deputy director of the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council, said each year, Saratoga County EOC’s Latino Community Advocacy Program conducts a photography workshop series that culminates in new additions to Estamos Aqui. Photographers are Latino immigrant workers from the race course backstretch and surrounding community. The project is now in its 10th year and the Martinez Gallery exhibition is the first time Estamos Aquí is being featured at a professional art gallery, she said.
“We are honored to have the photographs displayed alongside the works of other talented and accomplished Latino artists and the opportunity for the experiences and perspectives from the Latino community in Saratoga County to be shared with a new audience,” she said in an email. More information about Martinez Gallery and its upcoming events is available online at www. martinezgallery.net. Those interested in visiting Martinez Gallery can schedule an appointment by contacting Martinez at laudemartinez2@gmail. com or (518) 274-9377.