Greyscale Economics
The Greyscale Economics Project
Greyscale Economics Project combines data journalism, story-telling, and photography to highlight the stories of individuals who work in non-traditional economies.
This multi-disciplinary project features data on work, home life, and goals obtained through anonymous surveying of hard to collect from groups.
From simple barter systems, E-commerce, to illicit industries, Greyscale Economics collects and promotes the stories of individuals who are typically left out of labor reports and census data, which determines the resource allocation/funding, legal protection and broader civil awareness many of these groups could widely benefit from.
The Greyscale Economics Project has four phases. The 1st phase focused on data, quotes and objects individuals use most during their working hours. Phase 2 includes a period of shadowing and documenting the lives of specific members of varying groups along with continued data collection of in person and online surveying. Phase 3 is a secondary exhibition focusing on the actual individuals. Last, the 4th phase is a book, combining source materials and printed interviews from the project, along with analyzed data and a combination of images from each exhibit. The collected data will be published in an online database anyone can access for free and will be updated live.
The surveys and database will not be taken down even after the completion of the project so the information can grow and change with time.
The first phase of Greyscale Economics was recently exhibited at JKC Gallery in Trenton, NJ. The first phase featured data directly from members of non-traditional economies such as sex workers, childcare providers, street vendors, residential cleaners, scammers and more.
Featuring stories from members of non-traditional economies.
Take Part
Participants can take part in three ways:
Survey
Interview
Shadow and shoot
Survey.
To take short, completely anonymous survey click one of the buttons below.
English Language Survey
Spanish Language Survey
Interview + Shadow and photoshoot.
All interviews will be conducted by phone or method of the participants choice. After an interview, if interested, the participant can schedule a day to be shadowed through a normal day and be documented. This step in not mandatory. All information is completely anonymous and all identity markers will be removed from images immediately in post. (To review privacy and legal protections click here)
For participants interested in being interviewed, please reach out via the form below.
Privacy protection is vital to this project.
To view the privacy guidelines click the button below.
About Brass Rabbit
Brass Rabbit is a documentary photographer and writer working in Trenton, New Jersey, in the United States.
Brass Rabbit got her start as a creator in documentary photography capturing the home lives of gang members and other individuals from illicit economies along the American east coast. Her work focuses on American Made societal expectations and economic inequality.
Her works are held in several private collections and have been shown throughout galleries and museums on the east coast. As former member of the 501C3 arts nonprofit SAGE Coalition and OMN7 Arts Collective, she’s orchestrated and managed arts events and large-scale installations in the city of Trenton and beyond. She has created a variety of documentary series on subcultures in the US and is currently working on several new bodies of work.
To view a selection of Brass Rabbit’s Documentary work click the button below