Group of deaf women photograph coronavirus pandemic

SEATLE — A group of deaf women photographers is documenting the coronavirus pandemic through people’s windows.

It started with a Seattle photographer and has since grown to other cities and families around the country.

During a time when we’re apart, we’re finding ways to connect.

“I feel very strongly these types of connections are manifesting now because people want to be together, work together and they want to support art,” said photographer Cat Cassidy.

Seattle Photographer Cat Cassidy collaborated with her twin sister Clare Cassidy a photographer in San Francisco. Together, they launched the project “In Be Twins Us.” Soon, they caught the attention of other artists around the country. Several deaf women photographers from New York to California joined their movement.

“We were all deaf women photographers, and that’s beautiful to me, and feel really empowered,” said Cassidy.

This project has people reaching out to be included, eager to take part in this intimate experience. From posed portraits to amateur photographers taking photos, it’s a social experiment that represents varying reactions to the pandemic.

“We really do see into those family’s lives in those windows, which even makes it more personal in some ways because people are at home,” said Cassidy.

This project has shown that in spite of the space between us, we’re learning what really matters. For some it’s the need to celebrate, smile, laugh or even share a cup of coffee, even if it’s through a window.

“It’s like there is a thread that’s connecting all of us together because we are all in this same experience and that’s part of what I love about the concept of social distancing, but not being distant,” said Cassidy.

This social distancing project has hundreds of posts from around the country. If you want to be a part of it or check out the full range of images, use the hashtag “InBeTwinsUs” on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

© 2020 Cox Media Group