About Clarence

Clarence Elie Rivera, a product of Latino migration, lives and works in New York City where he documents the shifting politics of immigration, labor, and urbanization.  A life long project examines the impact of US-Puerto Rico relations on the lives of individuals residing on the continent and the island. His largest body of work “Legal Aliens: Gangsters, Musicians, the Neighborhood” spans two neighborhoods in NYC, The Lower East Side (Ludlow Street) and East Harlem, capturing the lives and activities of four generations. The effect of gentrification on traditionally Puerto Rican neighborhoods is highlighted in this work, and was showcased in the group show curated by Nan Golden in 1989 titled “Witness Against Our Vanishing,” at the Artists Space, the group show curated by Peter Galassi titled “Pleasures and Comforts of Domestic terror” at the Museum of Modern Art, and most recently in June of 2015, in “Lower East Side Story” on the New York Times Lens Blog written by David Gonzalez and edited by James Estrin. His scenes “provide a tumultuous vitality” of every day life in transition where they struggle to maintain their cultural identities and traditions. Other work was exhibited in a group show titled "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" at the Bronx Documentary Center in 2017.  He has worked as a staff photographer for a newspaper in Allentown, PA, “Entertainment News” for Getty Images, and more recently for organizations focused on labor.  His videography work focuses on unionized labor and the national shifts in labor relations documenting the stories of those working to provide social goods, such as clean water, transportation, park recreation, and public education. He is the Staff Photographer and Videographer for the Public Employees Press paper serving DC37 members who are part of the largest municipal union in New York City. He has completed formal course work in Black and Latin American Studies at City College and BMCC and is a graduate of The New School with a focus on media studies.