©Jordan Tovin, A Shaw Diary was held from February 23rd through March 20th in Gallery 102 at the Smith Hall of Art in Gallery 102.

A year ago, Jordan Tovin won the 2025 Lenscratch Student Prize for his project, A Shaw Diary. He has continued his documentation of a neighborhood struggling for identity during gentrification, as he follows a multigenerational family embedded in a community undergoing transformation. The project offers a deeply personal and resonant story of place, identity, and change.

As I stated last year, “His project continues a legacy of attentive observation—documenting communities and individuals with both compassion and curiosity. Through the thoughtful use of portraiture, ephemera, and a variety of cameras, Tovin creates a layered and expansive narrative.

A Shaw Diary was on exhibition from February 23rd through March 20th in Gallery 102 at the Smith Hall of Art at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at George Washington University, and last night, he opened a second exhibition of the same work in the  apartment building where the family he has been documenting resides.

Jordan Tovin (b. 2004) is an artist who makes multimedia long-form projects about the lived conditions of people navigating uncertainty within communities undergoing change. In collecting pictures, ephemera, words, and objects from the world around him, Tovin works within the documentary tradition to create long-form projects that reveal the nuance embedded in the everyday inner workings of these spaces.

His approach centers on close attention to the communities around him—documenting the many regions, spaces, and people that make up America, not as symbols or case studies, but as individuals and places shaped by small, ordinary details. Inspired by photographers, diarists, and archivists, Tovin builds collaborative projects that incorporate the voices of those he documents.

Instagram: @jordan.tovin

©Jordan Tovin, Billie waits for her mother Reece on the playground on April 25, 2025, as seen in the exhibition publication printed with Newspaper Club.

A Shaw Diary

Situated ten blocks from the White House, the historic Shaw neighborhood once stood as the cultural hub that defined Washington, D.C. Today a surge in luxury redevelopment threatens to erase the homes and histories of the black community that’s lived there for decades. For the last two years, Jordan Tovin has been documenting the experiences of one family living in subsidized housing, navigating an indeterminate future in a shifting social and physical landscape.

A Shaw Diary explores how their experience mirrors a national struggle against gentrification. The work offers a story of endurance that holds community and memory up against demolition and erasure. In this exhibit, Tovin centers the perspectives of the children, layering their drawings with family artifacts, snapshots, and his own traditional documentary photography. These elements together form a collaborative family album that presents the Kearneys’ voices and experiences, documenting not just what’s happening to them, but how they see and live their own lives.

©Jordan Tovin, In weaving print and stick, taped prints, and framed prints, I tried to create an immersive experience within the gallery.

It’s been a year since you won the 2025 Lenscratch Student Prize. What has happened since then — I know your work has continued to be acknowledged.

First off, thank you for the opportunity to share an update on the project! Since I received the Student Prize last summer, I’ve been working towards the two exhibitions I always planned on for this work: one at my school and then one within the Shaw neighborhood. This has meant spending a lot more time planning behind the scenes than actually making work out in the field. That’s come with pros and cons: while I’ve loved learning about what it takes to produce a show, I’ve also missed making pictures. In the meantime, I’ve been very fortunate with how the work has been perceived. I’m very grateful that my work has been in conversation with so much great work this past year. In gaining support from George Washington University, the Alexia Foundation, and the National Press Photographers Association, in addition to Lenscratch, I’ve been able to fund the continuation of this work. It’s been both humbling yet gratifying to see the work resonate with so many.

©Joran Tovin, The pictures made by the family were projected on the back of the freestanding wall in the gallery

Congratulations on two exhibitions. Can you speak to your innovative installations?

Thank you, I was very fortunate to show in two very different locations that have allowed me to think about the work in very different ways. In the Gallery 102 space at George Washington University, there were no rules for how I could display the work. Through conversations with you, Aline, mentors, peers, and professors, I began looking at photo installations that moved away from the traditional linear layout I had initially envisioned. Even with the support I’ve received, I’ve had to keep costs low—that’s meant building my own frames at the workshop at my school. I started layering those frames over large prints and stick drawings, with Polaroids and film photographs interspersed throughout. The idea was to make the audience feel like they were stepping into the diary. With my second location, I showed in the community room of the apartment building where the family lives. That space had more regulations since I couldn’t nail into the walls. I pivoted to using bond paper and Scotch tape and threw a pizza party for the apartment building. It was interesting to see the different energy within the spaces: the gallery had a much more formal feel than the community room.

©Joran Tovin, A spread from the newsprint publication

How has the project expanded, given that you have been documenting this family for several years?

The project was initially just about the neighborhood with the family being characters within that story. As I’ve spent more time over the past few years getting to know them, the project has changed so that the family has now become the focal point. Because they’ve gotten to know me over the past couple of years, they’ve become more comfortable allowing me to photograph different parts of their lives. In the meantime, I’ve tried to experiment more with how I can paint a more holistic picture of their daily lives.

©Joran Tovin, A vitrine with the diary and a piece of Billie’s artwork.

What are your hopes for what the audience takes away from the work?

I hope the audience becomes more curious about how rampant gentrification is in American cities and why it is that way. Gentrification doesn’t only look like physical changes—it can manifest in other ways. And, as cliche as it may sound, the lives of others are always more nuanced than we may think.

©Joran Tovin, A spread from the newsprint publication.

What have you learned from creating the work?

I’ve learned a lot—some more thematic lessons and some, more literal. I’d say my biggest takeaway is actually a lesson I’ve learned so many times: not to make assumptions. Throughout working on this project, I’ve found myself assuming things about the family and their neighborhood when I shouldn’t have. In working on these exhibitions, I’ve also learned more literal lessons about things I’d change about my process. I’m referring to the kind of paper I used, the way I constructed the frames, the way I went about planning the layouts—things I’m not sure I could’ve foreseen without going through the motions first.

©Joran Tovin, The back wall of the gallery.

What are the lows and highs of being a documentary photographer?

Aside from the financial realities of being a documentary photographer, there are a lot more highs in my opinion than lows. I’m sure others can relate to this, but I’ve been fortunate to have so many experiences that I owe to my camera and being a documentary photographer. Being invited into people’s lives, entrusted to tell their story, and learning about others—it’s a privilege that’s hard to overstate. I find the lows stem from being exposed to the realities and lived conditions of other people that can, at times, be upsetting. But it also goes back to making assumptions… I can’t judge someone else’s life just because it differs from my own. Especially with this project, I’ve found myself navigating these ethical questions constantly when I am witnessing the drug use, drinking or domestic violence. As much as it is a condition of doing this work responsibly, I’d be lying if I said that didn’t take a toll on me. But the reality is that those moments are a small fraction of this family’s life if that at all. There’s also a lot of joy in and outside their home… it’s always more nuanced than I realize.

©Joran Tovin, The introductory wall in the gallery.

Who or what inspires you?

I find people who are passionate about things inspiring—regardless whether or not I’m passionate about it, I appreciate hearing them. Photographically, I’ve been increasingly inspired by those blurring the lines between art and photojournalism: Dan Eldon, Peter Beard, & Ed Templeton. I’ve also been looking a lot at urban sketchers and people who have been making one-off handmade photo zines.

©Joran Tovin, The cover of the newsprint publication.

Can you give us a window into your new project?

It’s not really a ‘new’ project, but I’m about to begin installing a body of work I’ve been working on for over a year about the Go-Go community in Washington, D.C. For those who may not know, Go-Go is the city’s official music genre, but just a few decades ago it was criminalized as part of D.C.’s history of racist policies. That criminalization limited opportunities for young people at the time to engage with the music, creating an age gap that has threatened its future. This project has become a multimedia exploration of how the community is working to sustain the culture today—looking at the musicians, families, and organizers who are making sure Go-Go can move beyond its past and continue into the future. Once I finish installing that work, which will actually serve as my thesis project, I will move to New York for the summer to begin working for Reuters as a photojournalism intern