Closed // Open

An open conversation with hospitality professionals about being closed

This project was conceived as a photography series capturing industry professionals in their new reality — the empty rooms of their businesses. While I appreciated the visual dissonance in that idea, it began to feel like a missed opportunity, that it could be more. I wanted to give them a voice, an opportunity to open up and talk about what it’s like as a business owner to navigate the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. My goal is to visually capture this moment in time, while also hearing from these hard-working professionals in their own words.