a regionally popular instagram account about new jersey

I founded Jersey Collective in March 2014 as a collaborative Instagram account that a different photographer takes over each week. Since then, over 34,000 followers have watched our participants share stories and photos through the project. Jersey Collective strives to be as inclusive as possible and has featured hundreds of people from all different backgrounds and from all over the state.

Jersey Collective celebrates New Jersey's natural, cultural, and historical treasures through the eyes of an ever-changing group of residents and transplants. Each week shares new perspectives and creates new connections. 

I'm often asked why I started Jersey Collective. I began taking Instagram more seriously in 2013 and connected with other creative people who lived in my area. I wanted to create a project that would bring these people together. A real community. I am also very proud of where I come from and I'm frustrated whenever anyone takes a cheap shot at my home state. People seem to have a lot of strange stereotypes about New Jersey, and I envisioned a project that could challenge those misconceptions.

Jersey Collective quickly became more than just an Instagram account by finding ways to bring the project to life off-screen: meet ups, gallery shows, a book published by Rutgers University Press, a sticker vending machine stocked with work by New Jersey artists, a literary series, and New Jersey Go Fish!

shows & events

Each year from 2015-2017, Jersey Collective held pop-up gallery shows featuring printed photographs from the project. Producing the shows required me to communicate with 52 artists each year, venue staff, local arts non-profits, advertisers, sponsors, volunteers, and graphic designers. The shows were well attended by hundreds of people and received enthusiastic press coverage.

Jersey Collective has held a dozen meet ups and workshops over the years, including an exclusive tour of the revitalized Bell Labs building before it was open to the public. I've been invited to teach photography workshops at schools and non-profit organizations, and I've given interviews and spoken on panels about the impact of social media. View a full list of previous events here.

learn more

Follow Jersey Collective on Instagram and check out our website at jerseycollective.org. Our website has links to articles and interviews, information about past and upcoming events, and explains how to get involved with the project.

Jersey Collective continues to grow and firmly establish itself as a community that extends beyond Instagram through events and meet ups, as well as collaborations with arts and culture organizations and other New Jersey Instagram accounts.

selected press