New Women New Yorkers

Author: ariellekandel

Ximena at the Queens Museum

Portraits & interviews / Real People. Real Lives.

When the words do not come out

Reflections on the one-year anniversary of Real People. Real Lives – a photo and storytelling exhibit on immigrant women In 2017, an unique collaboration of New Women New Yorkers with photographer and filmmaker Dru Blumensheid gave life to an exhibit featuring photographs of 16 immigrant women, an 18-feet-long mural, and a nearly 2-hour film with additional photographs and the audio interviews of the women. The show revealed a nuanced picture of the immigrant women who make NYC their home, the...

Gyuzel at Brighton Beach, where Central Asian food and old women gossiping in Russian makes her feel at home

Portraits & interviews / Volunteer profiles

NWNY’s program associate Gyuzel Zaripova’s winding road to NYC

How a young woman journeyed from Kazakhstan to Paris to New York City to start a new life. Written by Tatiana Spiegel On a cold winter day in December, I left my cozy apartment to get acquainted with an unfamiliar face,  Gyuzel Zaripova, the program associate for New Women New Yorkers. I approached the West Village restaurant where we’d planned to meet and was warmly greeted by her at the entrance. She was wrapped in a wool coat and scarf,...

Portraits & interviews

Meet Kamonwan Chen, a gemologist from Thailand

The story of how an immigrant woman from Thailand learned her way around NYC Written by Allie Ginwala   Tell us a little about yourselfI’m Kamonwan Chen, from Thailand. I just moved here in January 2018. Before I moved, I came here on business trips four or five times. So it’s not all brand new, but visiting on business and living here is totally different. What brought you to New York City?I got married. We met on a business trip...

Portraits & interviews

Meet Manar, an accountant and office manager from Egypt

From an office job in Alexandria, Egypt, to a hospital position in NYC.   What’s your name, where are you from, and how long have you been living in New York?  My name is Manar, and I am from Alexandria, Egypt. I have been living in New York for three years.   What was it like to try to find work in New York? Finding a job was so hard. I used to work as an accountant and office manager...