Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant’s Journey - Bilingual book event | Emma Violand-Sanchez, author

One of our sage local leaders, Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez, has released a memoir of her life: Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant’s Journey. 

A well-attended event featuring conversation and community, "Sueños y Sombras: A Bilingual Celebration," celebrating the book was held at Café Sazón on the Pike. The book was written in collaboration with David Bearinger. It follows Dr. Violand-Sanchez's life story from her origins in Bolivia, to her work as an educator, Arlington County School Board chair, and effective advocate for immigrant rights and opportunities.

Photography by Lloyd Wolf.

Columbia Pike Documentary Project featured in VMHC's new book

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) features three full pages dedicated to the work of the Columbia Pike Documentary Project (CPDP) in its newly released book Our Commonwealth: People & Places Of Virginia.

There is a brief history of Columbia Pike and CPDP, plus two full pages of photographs and text by Lara Ajami, Xang Mimi Ho, and Lloyd Wolf.

The book material is taken from CPDP artwork included in the permanent exhibition on display in the museum in Richmond.

The book is available for purchase here.

Transitions book in use at Arlington Tech

Our team's book Transitions is being used in an English composition class taught at Arlington Tech by Peter Stephens.  Photos and text from the book are on display on the classroom's walls, as part of a curriculum focused on learning about the diverse community we live in.  

Stay tuned for pictures of the class. 

CPDP photographer Lloyd Wolf is working with the students on their media projects.

CPDP in the classroom

 Two pictures and a note from teacher Peter Stephens of the Arlington Career Center, who is using our Transitions book in his classroom. -

"We have eleven of these interviews from Transitions on the walls. Students’ interactions with them gave them ideas for researching Arlington for their comparison essays. (E.g., compare some aspect of Columbia Pike with the same subject in another part of Arlington where they live, work, or play. We’re a magnet school, so we pull students from all over Arlington.) They’ll use the interviews and photos again for a longer paper next month."

Photos by Peter Stephens

Transitions book now available!

Transitions, the Columbia Pike Documentary Project’s new book-length catalog, is now available.

Elegantly designed by our team member Xang Ho, it is 296 pages long, with numerous in-depth interviews of Columbia Pike residents, business owners, and community leaders by Sushmita Mazumdar and Lloyd Wolf, and eye-opening photo essays by Dewey Tron, Lara Ajami, Moises Gomez, Xang Ho, and Lloyd Wolf.

It’s a fascinating plunge into the shared stories of a diverse community in transition. And it’s really beautiful, too.

Click here to order the book (best from Monday evenings through Friday evenings). 

Price includes shipping to the US.

Transitions. The book has arrived!

The Columbia Pike Documentary Project's new book "Transitions" has just arrived from our overseas printer.

We are very excited to share it with the community.

It is beautifully designed by our own talented Xang Mimi Ho, and features the work of the entire CPDP team: Lara Ajami, Moises Gomez, Xang Mimi Ho, Sushmita Mazumdar, Dewey Tron, and project director Lloyd Wolf.

It tells the stories of our diverse and rapidly-changing community in twenty-four in-depth interviews and striking portfolios of photography.

Please come to our opening reception and book signing at:
George Mason University's Founders Gallery at the GMU Arlington Campus.
Saturday March 21, 2020
4:00 to 6:00 PM.
Van Metre Hall, 3351 N. Fairfax Dr. Arlington VA 22201

Contact Lloyd Wolf at lloydwolf@lloydwolf.com if you want to purchase your own copy.

Photos by Sushmita Mazumdar and Lloyd Wolf.

Transitions catalog at the printer!

Exciting news!

Transitions, the Columbia Pike Documentary Project's the new book length catalog, is now at the printers!

Elegantly designed by our team member Xang Ho, it is 296 pages long, with numerous in-depth interviews of Columbia Pike residents, business owners and community leaders by Sushmita Mazumdar and Lloyd Wolf, and insightful photo essays by Dewey Tron, Lara Ajami, Moises Gomez, Xang Ho, and Lloyd Wolf.

It takes deep plunge into telling the stories of a diverse community in transition.
And it's really beautiful, too.

Thanks to everyone who's supported us, especially this project's main backer, the good folks at Virginia Humanities, and our fiscal agent CPRO, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization. Much obliged.

Stay tuned for a book-signing and exhibition event.

Here are are few tastes of what's coming:

A is for Arlington

A photo by the Columbia Pike Documentary Project is included as an illustration in the new book "A is for Arlington," for the section "R is for Roads." The authors Jennifer Burgin and Elizabeth Kuleski created the book for the Arlington Public Schools' Social Studies Office for use in our classrooms. We are proud to have our work be part of this educational effort. (The photo is by CPDP photographer Lloyd Wolf. It is a view of the 2600 and 2700 blocks of the Pike at night).

Voice of America : video report on the Columbia Pike Documentary Project

Voice of America reporter June Byung Hwa Soh has just posted a piece she has created on Columbia Pike and the Living Diversity book on the VOA website.

It is a cogent and very positive video article on the Pike and our work documenting it.

Take a look by clicking here:

Thanks especially to CPDP photographer Duy Tran, who was also interviewed and provided critical technical assistance with lighting and other logistics (and gets a brief moment onscreen), plus local business owners Claudia Camacho of Cafe Sazon, and Mr. Mohamed of Asni Ethiopian Store. 

All our photographers show up also in a nicely-panned still image of everyone’s faces. (I tried for more inclusive coverage of our team, but I don’t get to edit VOA’s stuff!).

VOA gets beamed worldwide, and has a very large following. This is an exceptional showcase.

It presents us, and the work we have all done together as citizens in Arlington to build and sustain a vital diverse community. It looks good - because we’ve done good. 

I’m proud to live here, and proud of the work our team - Aleksandra, Duy, Mimi, and Paula - along with our many supporters and collaborators - have accomplished.

Enjoy the video.

Living Diversity on the radio / WVTF

There is an interesting interview and slideshow of the work of the Columbia Pike Documentary Project on WVTF radio, an NPR affiliated station in Charlottesville, Virginia. You can see the pictures and hear the interview with CPDP chief photographer Lloyd Wolf here:

Thanks to Sandy Hausman of WVTF for her interest in our work, and for her thoughtful interview.

Virginia Festival of the Book

If anyone is in Charlottesville, Virginia next week, CPDP chief photographer Lloyd Wolf will be speaking about the Columbia Pike Documentary Project's book "Living Diversity" as part of a panel for the Virginia Festival for the Book.

The program is entitled: "A State of Many Nations: Immigration and the Changing Face of Virginia"

Thursday, March 17, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
UVa Culbreth Theatre
109 Culbreth Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Tickets are free, but you will need to register online (easy to do-  here)

We hope to see some of y'all there! 

    Some photos from the panel that evening, by VFH staff photographer Pat Jarrett. 

Photo captions: Author Tom Gjelten (A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story), Cuban-American author Gustavo Pérez Firmat (A Cuban in Mayberry), and photographer Lloyd Wolf (Living Diversity: The Columbia Pike Documentary Project) discussed immigration in Virginia at Culbreth Auditorium on UVa grounds at the Virginia Festival of the Book on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Festival organizer Jane Kudlow (in white) was with us in the green room while we got miked up).

Thanks to everyone at the festival and the VFH for this opportunity.

Living Diversity exhibition opening at the Arlington Mill Community Center

Our exhibition had a large turnout, and we are still in a bit of awe and happiness at the presence of so many supporters, and the positive expressions made to us about the work.

Arlington County Board members Walter Tejada, Libby Garvey, John Vihstadt, Jay Fissette, Board Chair Mary Hynes, Virginia State Delegate Alfonso Lopez, School Board Chair Emma Violand Sanchez, and David Bearinger of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities were in attendance. Most of them shared their words in celebration of the event and of the harmonious diversity that exists in our community.

A huge thank you to Susan Soroko, director of creative economy with the Arlington County Economic Development office, Takis Karantonis and Christine Hopkins of CPRO, all of whom navigated the mazes of the bureaucracy, got the art on the wall, provided funds and other critical support - who made it all happen. Much obliged.

Thanks also to Claudia Salazar of Cafe Sazon, who catered the delicious food, and to Rick Franklin, our fine local Piedmont blues musician, who graced us with his stylings.

And blessings to all of you who attended, and who have supported our efforts,in ways great and small, to document the community over the years.

Thank you.

We love you.

These terrific photographs of the opening are courtesy © of Gerald Martineau, a veteran Washington Post photographer, and long-time Arlington resident. Thanks neighbor!

Lloyd Wolf

Paula Endo

David Bearinger

Paula Endo

Duy Tran

Delegate Alfonso Lopez

Xang Mimi Ho

Walter Tejada and Mary Hynes

Libby Garvey

Takis Karantonis

Mary Hynes

John Vihstadt

Aleksandra Lagkueva (signing book)

Mila and Mila

Achmed Osman

Bluesman Rick Franklin

Mike Mitchell (Lloyd's teacher) and Lloyd Wolf