Levi's Photo Workshop kicks off in New York City

11 Oct '10

4 min read

On the heels of the Levi's Print Workshop in San Francisco, the Levi's brand will open the second of its Levi's Workshops in New York City. The Levi's Photo Workshop will serve as a community space, hosting creative production, engaging events and an inventive retail experience. Designed as a fully-functioning photography studio, the space will feature an array of vintage and modern photography resources that span the history of the craft. The Levi's Photo Workshop will open for ten weeks at 18 Wooster Street in Manhattan's SoHo district, closing up shop on December 18, 2010.

The Levi's Workshops series was launched in July 2010, along with the brand's "Ready to Work" Go Forth campaign. As one of the original purveyors of American work wear, the Levi's brand has a longstanding commitment to the American Pioneer. These efforts are designed to celebrate that pioneering spirit and inspire communities across the nation to engage in creative collaboration for the common good.

The Levi's Photo Workshop will house a variety of distinct public resources: a photo shop offering vintage camera rentals and various for-sale products related to photography, an on-demand printing center, exhibition space and a professional-grade studio with photo assistants and digital technicians. Local artists, community groups and non-profit organizations will use this equipment to create their own photography-based work to be exhibited and/or sold in the Workshop.

The space will also sell a selection of camera-related equipment and artifacts, unique Levi's-branded Workshop products like denim camera bags and lens wraps, as well as select Levi's 511 and 505 Corduroys and Trucker Jackets. All proceeds from sales at the Levi's Photo Workshop will benefit New York-based non-profit organizations, including: The Five Boroughs Foundation of Photography, Hetrick-Martin Institute / Harvey Milk High School, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Edible Schoolyard New York.

Central to the Levi's Workshops program are collaborations with esteemed photographers and notable pioneers, from the worlds of architecture and design, culinary arts, music and fashion, including:

• Master photographer Bruce Davidson has called New York home for over fifty years, and many of his best-known series, including "Brooklyn Gangs," "East 100th Street," "Subway," "Lower East Side," and "Central Park" focus on the character and culture of this diverse and ever-changing city. On December 9, 2010, Davidson will show an overview of his life's work and participate in a Q&A session. A book signing for his retrospective, Outside/Inside, will be held following the talk.
• Nick Zinner, guitarist from the highly-acclaimed band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, will exhibit 1001 prints from his personal collection of photographs taken on the road.
• Since the first issue of 30 Xeroxed pamphlets was printed in 2002, San Francisco-based Hamburger Eyes has garnered attention and adoration from the photography world. In collaboration with the Levi's Photo Workshop, Hamburger Eyes will boldly try to capture the range of shutter bugs to pro shooters that walk through the doors of the Workshop. The working title for this print-on-demand and online/digital publication is Yearbook: Every Photographer in New York.

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