Empty / Full

Evan Parness documents the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the summer of 2020.

Shifting Ground was an open call for visual reports about how the events of 2020 and 2021 reconfigured our relationship with both public and private space. Selected entries were posted on the League’s Instagram account.

Evan Parness documented an unusual period in a midwestern college town.

Parness wrote:

My photos capture the progression from the emptiness of Ann Arbor on lockdown to how the streets filled again with people. These photos highlight both life on pause and the passionate movement for creating a better and more equal America as Black Lives Matter protests occurred throughout June.

The way we currently occupy space comes with a necessary mindset of intention and purpose. To take to the streets to fight for justice is to harness the power of built space to amplify a message. Likewise, to leave our built environment isolated is to protect the health of others.

Biographies

Evan Parness

(@evanparness) is a photographer and artist from New York City studying architecture and sustainability at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College.