Miao Miao Dang, Preschool classroom teacher, ECEAP preschool program

Subject Statement: It is like a race, you are running and running but there is no ending point. Everything is uncertain. I had to weigh physical health versus other things like finances and my mental health and so I made the decision to go back to work. I missed working with the kids and using my skills to provide for them. All of my families are mainly lower income, and so they have to work otherwise how can they support their families? Artist Statement:  I approached this project with the belief that collaboration with the photo subject is imperative for creating more authentic images. I took this a step further and asked my community to help me define the word “essential workers” and asked them to nominate themselves or others to be photographed. Wanting my images to match the ethnic and cultural demographics of my neighborhood, I used the 2010 Census data to assist me in selecting participants.