A pandemic photography project by Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova
As Lexington approaches the one-year mark since its first COVID-19 case was recorded, we are highlighting a selection of photos from the photography project “Lexington in the Time of COVID-19” by Transylvania professors and frequent artistic collaborators Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova (pictured above). For the past year, the duo has traversed Lexington, documenting the pandemic’s impact by photographing folks on their front porches (from a safe distance, of course) and posting the photos – more than 300 of them – on social media, along with accompanying narratives that highlight varied individual pandemic experiences or stories. Combining elements of documentary, archive history and community engagement, the stories and accompanying narratives highlight hope in a year marked so heavily by fear; common ground in a time so largely defined by division; and human connection in the midst of much isolation.
A message from Kurt & Kremena:
We took our first photographs for this artwork on March 16, 2020, the day restaurants and coffee houses in Kentucky closed, the day we began practicing socially distanced lives. We photographed each other on our respective porches and issued a call to our fellow Lexingtonians: Let us know if we can create a (similar) portrait of you outside your home. We told folks we would ask how they were doing: a narrative to accompany their photo. We promised to keep our distance. And to be kind.
In the days and weeks that followed, we shared many of our photographs and accompanying stories on Facebook. These images and stories allowed us to document some of the strangeness of our new lives, to connect folks across the city we call home, and to assure ourselves and others we would get through this: this being a global health crisis whose scale we couldn’t predict a year ago.
The first Lexington life lost to COVID-19 came a week into our artwork. Later that month, we wrote about elementary schools holding spirited car parades – dominated by pompoms, balloons and homemade signs – so teachers and students could wave at each other since they could no longer share the physical spaces of classrooms, libraries or cafeterias. We kept spotting teddy bears in first- and second-floor windows, front yards with new gardens and cars once driven to work now parked all day in residential streets. We watched as more porches were lit up by green lights honoring the lives of Kentuckians lost to COVID-19. We photographed families celebrating birthdays, women expecting their firstborn or second child and a couple who would broadcast their marriage ceremony on Zoom two hours after we visited them. Our photographs shared stories of Passover, Easter and Ramadan – each observed away from extended family, friends and beloved communities.
In the spring we traveled to the domestic violence shelter GreenHouse17. We created portraits of women and children, and heard of the challenges crisis shelters faced during the pandemic. We photographed a high-school senior working on the speech for her virtual graduation. We took pictures of members of the March Madness Marching Band, small-business owners and employees of Fayette County Public Schools – custodial staff, teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and principals – to thank them for all they do.
We spoke with and photographed musicians, vocal performers, university administrators about to begin a new academic year, census workers and people dealing with another ongoing and often hidden pandemic: the opioid crisis ravaging our communities. We marked annual holidays and momentous occasions, from Mother’s Day to the Black Lives Matter protests that shook up big cities, mid-size towns and rural highways across the United States and around the globe. We recorded and shared stories of strength, compassion and care to accompany portraits we created of 56 Lexington women of color who lead as a way of celebrating their lives while honoring Vice President Kamala Harris.
Our hearts were made full by the gentle kindness of people looking after each other while managing the rules of social distancing and the grief from so many losses.
We were buoyed by the humor and generosity of everyone who shared stories, life milestones and everyday moments with us.
Thank you, Lexington.
Below, we've highlighted a small selection of photograph from this project. The photos are displayed in several galleries, roughly in the chronological order in which they were taken. To see more photos from the series, visit www.lextimecovid19.com.
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Shawn Gannon’s 50th birthday took place on April Fool’s Day 2020. His family had planned a surprise weekend in Chicago; they were especially excited to take him to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. As it turned out, there could be no trip to Chicago – but Shawn turned 50 anyway, and the family managed to get together and celebrate.
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In late March 2020, fiber artist and University of Kentucky art professor Arturo Sandoval took a break from working on new artworks to sit for a picture. Since that visit, he has created 22 studies for a series called “Confined City In The Age of COVID-19,” one of which was accepted into Quilt National, a juried biennial exhibition of contemporary quilt art.
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When she became pregnant, entrepreneur and business owner Kaelyn Query had a hard time following doctor’s orders to slow down; her parents joked the pandemic was the only thing that could help. This photo was taken in April; in August she gave birth to a baby boy. Despite the pandemic-induced financial losses and sleepless/stressful nights, Query feels grateful that this time has allowed her to fully enjoy being pregnant, to spend quality time with her newborn and to truly appreciate the art of slowing down.
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Celebrating a monumental birthday in April, in the thick of the pandemic-imposed lockdown, provided Ashley Schocat (left) “an opportunity to be grateful for a whole new realm of things,” she said. She’s pictured here with her partner, Amanda Ralston, and their dog, Twiggy, on their front porch, which they decorated with pandemic-inspired flare (their cat, Skinner, can be seen peeking through the window).
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Taken in April, University of Kentucky Art Museum director Stuart Horodner wears a kimono he bought at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Boca Raton, during one of many trips to care for his aging parents in Florida in recent years. “In this pandemic period, I am enjoying being in this outfit for a few hours each day – having morning coffee, checking out developments in my garden, and working at the computer,” he said. Since this photo was taken, Horodner says he’s been buoyed by the fact that the UK Art Museum has been able to reopen, and that visitors seem delighted to be safely experiencing its exhibitions.
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The Froukh family had two family businesses impacted by the pandemic: Cuts on Lime Barbershop, which closed in March, and Habibis Sweets & Pastries, which remains open but has struggled over the past year. The family also struggled with not being able to celebrate holidays with their extended family, even those who live nearby. “The social distancing has also brought back traumatic memories from living under lockdown in Palestine years ago,” said Hanan, pictured second from left. Still, she added, “we are trying to keep a positive outlook and serve our community.”
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Northside residents Christine and Philip Manga, a mother and son who were photographed in July, noted they were able to find blessings amidst the havoc wreaked by the pandemic. “This pandemic has enabled me to spend more time with my family, to grow as an individual. Despite all the madness, I have an opportunity to exercise my will and make things happen. One word: grateful,” Philip said.
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Photographed around Mother’s Day, Lexington writer Crystal Wilkinson wrote at the time that she was thinking about mothers: “... mothers in nursing homes, in senior citizen facilities, in apartments, in houses all over this city, in cities around the country who can’t hug their children today … On this Mother’s Day we are all wondering what the future holds,” she continued. “I hope for a future for us all that involves cheer and the joy of laughter and shared meals, and most of all, abundant, tight, warm, love-filled hugs.”
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Bluegrass Youth Ballet director Adalhi Aranda (middle) and her family were subject to the same challenges faced by many during the pandemic, particularly those related to virtual learning and teaching. From teaching ballet on a virtual platform to navigating middle school and engineering school away from peers, adjustments were made and perspectives were shifted. “I used to get annoyed at people at school,” said Mariano, age 12. “Now I realize I miss them.”
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Wyn Morris and Vicki Sword, pictured here with their son, Owen, are both passionate animal welfare volunteers. “With shelters throughout the state being greatly understaffed or closed to the public, the need has been tremendous,” Sword said. While Morris hasn’t been able to bring home any monkeys or chimps from Primate Rescue Center, where he volunteers weekly during non-pandemic times, the family has been fostering a rotating door of kitties through the program Halfway Home Rescue Kentucky.
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“This building is iconic and it represents all our employees. It shows what we’re about: providing education to all kids in the county,” said the late Fayette County Public Schools superintendent Manny Caulk, when explaining why he wanted to have his family photographed at the FCPS main office rather than at home. Caulk passed away Dec. 4 and is missed by many.
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“Accepting my truth brought me peace and opened my heart to love and changed my very existence. I am the author of my desire; I no longer trek the path assigned to me but create my road to destiny. My adventure awaits, and with my beloved at my side, we will chase the wonders of life, without fear,” said Shady, pictured above at right, along with partner Petty.
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Early in the pandemic, to ease her anxiety, Ana, a Lexington doctor, found herself diving deep into medical and research journals, “hoping the science [or the experience of those before us] would make the answers easier.” As she noted in July, she didn’t find those answers to come any easier. But she and her husband, Kiet, pictured at right with their dog, Buzz, made continued efforts to keep the hope, including the installation of this sign on their fence. “The HOPE sign was for us as much as it was for all that walk by. We will always live with some of our ghosts, which come to life in times like these,” she said. “In the meantime, we have hope, words, art, and neighbors, leveling the field so we ourselves remain unbroken.”
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In July, Emily and Echo Woxihara moved from their Mentelle neighborhood apartment out to the country to save money and be closer to family. The couple, who are both musicians who had their creative outlet and livelihoods affected by the pandemic said, “It’s funny how motivation to create is different for everyone – there’s almost this invisible pressure to produce something meaningful when you suddenly have all of this extra time on your hands.” They noted recently that farm life was ultimately conducive to their creativity: At the end of the year, they recorded and released a new original song with video accompaniment and are excited to have started getting “back in the swing of things” with their band, Ancient Warfare.
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“We wear our masks to protect you. We wear our masks to protect our community. We wear our masks, not out of fear but out of love,” said Kathleen Winter, Ph.D., Master’s in Public Health, and assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, pictured above with her family in July.
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“I fight to show people there is always room for growth. There’s such a thing as growing up, becoming educated, and doing better. I’ve learned that it is my duty to fight, not only for my own freedom but for that of others. I fight so, hopefully, my children and grandchildren will never have to be out in the streets fighting for the same things that I have,” said Kenzie Green.
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Dr. Seema Capoor is a physician, surgeon and associate professor at the Department of Ophthalmology at UK HealthCare. Photographed in January as part of Todorova and Gohde’s “Lexington Women of Color Who Lead” project, a subseries of their Lexington in the Time of COVID-19 project, Capoor said that as an immigrant and woman of color, she has been heartened by the interest of patients and coworkers in her Indian background. “I wish for all womenof color to experience this sense of empowerment by their work,” she said.