Family in window sheltering in place

In Place | Portraits of a Pandemic, Los Angeles, CA

2020

Alon Goldsmith

Collecting Community History Initiative Digital Archives, Autry Museum; MSA.64.1.200

In Place | Portraits of a Pandemic:

“Since lockdown, I have been photographing Angelenos who are sheltering in place. (Physical distancing is maintained throughout.) I have also been writing stories to accompany the photographs about each household, documenting their experiences, feelings, and thoughts about life during the pandemic. The subjects of In Place | Portraits of a Pandemic are a random sampling of people I’ve encountered in my 35-year history in Los Angeles, as well as people I’ve met through serendipitous encounters as a result of the project. I’ve photographed rabbis, rock stars, a deaf activist from Compton, a best-selling author, a Top Chef Masters TV personality, the president of KCRW, the chair of Amnesty International, a homeless woman who lives on Ballona Creek, and dozens of other wonderfully interesting and diverse Angelenos.”

Community and Space

During March of 2020, as states like California, began implementing shelter-in-place-orders (SIPO) to curb transmission of the Coronavirus across the American West, many citizens found themselves relegated to the confines of their homes and the streets and major tourist areas closed.  

Over the next several months, as citizens considered the length of the SIPO on themselves and others, many become creative to highlight their anxiety, but also their resilience. 

Communities of all sorts became creative by using both digital and physical spaces to replicate some semblance of normalcy during the pandemic. Particularly, refashioning Birthday parties and other social gatherings and hosting them over Zoom to using hobbies to document bare city streets and loved ones from a safe social-distance.

Land Acknowledgment

The Autry Museum of American West acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). We recognize that the Autry Museum and its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Gabrielino/Tongva peoples and we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.

The Autry Museum in Griffith Park

4700 Western Heritage Way

Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462
Located northeast of downtown, across from the Los Angeles Zoo.
Map and Directions

Free parking for Autry visitors.


MUSEUM AND STORE HOURS
Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

DINING
Food Trucks are available on select days, contact us for details at 323.495.4252.
The cafe is temporarily closed until further notice.