Housing, Conditions: United States. New Jersey. Newark: Housing Conditions in Newark, New Jersey: Shacks erected on unbuilt streets near the city line. Land between houses is being filled with waste paper and garbage. c. 1903

Editor: This is Jessie Tarbox Beals' photograph, "Housing, Conditions: United States. New Jersey. Newark..." It's a stark image, isn’t it? All that mud and those shacks... What historical narratives do you see at play here? Curator: This image really speaks to the intersection of poverty and public health. Beals, as a female photographer, likely had unique access to these domestic scenes. How might the act of photographing, and then exhibiting, these conditions serve a specific social or political purpose? Editor: Perhaps to instigate change, by exposing the dire reality? Curator: Precisely. It prompts us to think about the role of photography in social reform movements and the power dynamics inherent in documenting marginalized communities. Food for thought, right? Editor: Definitely. I see so much more in this image now.