EN FOCO APPEALS FOR SUPPORT TO CONSERVE AND REHOUSE ITEMS DAMAGED BY HURRICANE IDA

(Bronx, New York – September 15, 2021) – En Foco, a Bronx-based nonprofit organization that supports contemporary photographers of color, is raising funds to conserve and rehouse its archives in a new climate-controlled facility.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, En Foco discovered that its current storage facility, which houses materials from its archives, had flooded. Over the course of a week, staff members removed all water-damaged materials from the affected area and transported them to temporary housing to begin the recovery process,  which will continue through the foreseeable future.

En Foco’s affected materials include:

• Historical papers (ie: past exhibition catalogs, artist correspondence and contracts, and past public programs flyers).
• Copies of Nueva Luz (En Foco’s flagship art publication that addresses social and cultural issues at the fore of photography).
• Financial documents.
• A number of photographic prints.

“In our most dire times, we have always been able to count on the generosity of our dedicated arts community,” said Bill Aguado, Executive Director of En Foco. “While most of the affected materials were salvaged, there is still moisture in the storage facility and mold growing in the environment surrounding the storage space. En Foco now faces the immense task of securing a climate-controlled permanent location to house our archives and a paper conservator to ensure our collection has not been damaged.”

The organization is currently seeking monetary donations.

ABOUT EN FOCO

En Foco is a non-profit organization that nurtures and supports contemporary fine art and documentary photographers of diverse cultures, primarily U.S. residents of Latino, African and Asian Heritage, Native Peoples of the Americas, and Pacific Islanders. Since it was founded in 1974, En Foco has been an outspoken leader and advocate for the equitable support and access to resources for photographers of color. It has distinguished itself through its sustained commitment to providing its primary constituency and the communities they represent financial support, public programming, information services, and cultural advocacy initiatives.

En Foco is supported in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, BronxCare Health System, The Joy of Giving Something, Inc., Rockefeller Brothers Fund Culpeper Arts and Culture, New York Community Trust Mosaic Network & Fund, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Aguado-Pavlick Arts Fund.