In March 2020, life for many in New York came to a standstill. Schools and museums closed, subways and streets emptied, and terms like ‘essential worker’, ‘home school‘, and ‘remote working’ became part of our daily conversation. As so many around the world had done, New York stockpiled groceries and closed their apartment doors to the world, only appearing to join their neighbors in the 7pm chorus of thanks.
In the midst of this confusion, AWNY Volunteer and New Members Lead Robyn Sunderland wondered how other expats were doing, and decided to record these pandemic days. Robyn put the call out to the Aussie community to send photos of how they were managing – and ‘Pictures of Us in the Time of Covid-19’ was born.
‘Pictures of Us’ is photo essay which is both an observation and celebration of life; babies were born, marriages embarked on, graduations (not quite) had. We’ve grown gardens, home schooled, had teeth extracted, made art and craft, raised families, adopted pets, danced in the street, enjoyed our rooftops, picked flowers and continued our research on infectious diseases – all the while expressing our gratitude to our essential workers. Some of us were newly arrived, some of us went back to Australia – but all of us have returned to the things that sustain us; food, family, nature, creativity and being part of this vibrant expat community.
Flip through ‘Pictures of Us’:
Download ‘Pictures of Us’ to keep on your computer as a pdf:
Be part of the collection
If you’d like to be part of the ‘Pictures of Us’ collection, share your own photo and story on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and use the hashtag: #AWNYPicturesofUs
Thank you
A big thank you to everyone who submitted their photos and story to #AWNYPicturesofUs, in particular AWNY volunteer Robyn Sunderland, without whom this project would not have been possible.
Pictures of Us in the Time of Covid-19 e-book was designed and developed by Robyn Sunderland.
AWNY | Australian Women in New York 
What a wonderful collection of stories and THANK YOU so much Robyn for bringing this format to life, both in and for the AWNY community. Your intuitive and creative ways, to enable us to remain connected, to remain as a community (individually and collectively) and to remain creative throughout the COVID time is certainly an inspiration. BRAVA to you and all, as we have continue to learn how to be in these uncertain times! Heartfelt thanks
Thank you, Susie. “Pictures of Us” was such a rewarding project to work on. A big fan of LIFE magazine’s photo collections, I’ve always learned and taken away so much by looking at photos of people in life defining moments. Bringing our community together at a time when we’re apart due to Covid-19 has been a very enriching experience for me and one which I’m glad for us all to share.