REVEALING MYTH:PEEKSKILL
Revealing Myth: Peekskill was a performance created in collaboration with youth from the Peekskill Youth Bureau for the Peekskill Arts Festival, held at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art. Over the course of a four-day workshop, we worked with the young participants to create masks from natural objects found in the surrounding forest. The purpose of the masks was to allow the youth to explore their identities, hidden behind a physical cover, as a way to reflect on the way they were perceived by society while also offering a form of self-expression.
Peekskill, like many other areas, had undergone significant transformation due to gentrification. Wealthier families from New York City were moving to the Hudson Valley to purchase second homes or escape the urban bustle for a quieter life. In contrast, long-time residents, many of whom came from lower-income backgrounds and had lived in the area for generations, found themselves being outpriced and displaced. The performance reflected this tension, where the newer, wealthier population arrived, often unaware of the history and struggles of the longstanding community. For the original residents, the influx of new wealth meant they were increasingly marginalized, simultaneously feeling out of place in their own neighborhoods and yet on display as part of the social and economic shifts occurring around them.
On the opening day of the festival, the youth participants and I peeled off our masks in front of the visitors, revealing our faces and handing over the mask fragments. Some audience members took the pieces freely, while others were visibly unsettled by our unmasking. We remained silent throughout the act, not answering any questions. The power shift was palpable—through our silence and the act of revealing our faces, the roles reversed. We no longer stood as the "others" behind the masks but as participants in a social commentary, challenging the assumptions and the gaze of the audience. The performance invited a moment of reflection on identity, gentrification, and the complex dynamics of belonging in a rapidly changing community.