THE NEW NORMAL
The New Normal
Megan Stansbury
A Photographic Scavenger Hunt
A Photographic Scavenger Hunt
The New Normal
A Photographic Scavenger Hunt
Megan Stansbury
Little libraries are the new libraries. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Old signs of connection take on new life. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Being “open� is now the exception in business practices. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Restaurants are essential for the homeless. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Playing outdoors is no longer recommended by health officials. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Restaurant chairs wait indefinitely to be unstacked. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Bingo walks for social distancing children. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Roads have become optional. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Betty Sugarbaker (Apple Brown Betty) swaps drag queen bingo for drive through. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
The new residents move in. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Outdoor games make light of life’s mysteries for children. March 31, 2020, Chicago, Illinois, Megan Stansbury
Edgewater, Chicago What Home is Now...
On March 11, 2020, Washington University decided to cancel in person classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak and send all students living on campus home. I returned to Edgewater, Chicago to finish the last quarter of my senior year. My dad and went for daily walks in our neighborhood. At first, everything seemed quiet. Our neighbors were waving politely and then crossing the street. Those who stopped to talk, shouted from a distance across the street briefly and moved on. Things seemed bleak. It’s in this time where interpersonal connection is scarce, that it is the most important. Even though we can not gather, we can expand our idea of home to include each other. Through public spaces we can still send messages to each other. Messages of support. Messages of joy. Messages of hope. As the neighborhood begins to adjust to this new normal, things change. Yard decorations get more creative including blow up dinosaurs, rubber, ducks and cows. “Yard bombing” with yard flamingos becomes the new birthday card. Scavenger hunt clues start to pop up on telephone poles and in sidewalk chalk. People now camp out on their porches with warm beverages and greet neighbors excitedly as they pass by. There’s a movement to support the local culture of restaurants and bars through creative takeout. This is what home is now.
Colophon Photography, design and copy by Megan Stansbury. Typeset in Source Sans Pro designed by Paul D. Hunt for Adobe Systems and Abril Titling designed by JosĂŠ Scaglione and Veronika Burian at TypeTogether.
The New Normal
A Photographic Scavenger Hunt
Stay Home. April, 2020