Carlos A. Martinez and participants from Stone Soup Park will be taking photos and collecting community members’ stories on Park(ing) Day. The photo project goes by the name of “Photo Booth Without Borders” and here’s the update they sent:

As a 2009 participant in The Laundormat project’s Create Change program, Carlos Martinez invites Jackson Heights neighbors and visitors to visually and verbally record their personal journeys as human beings, as New Yorkers, as immigrants to celebrate diversity.

People will share their stories using a portable photo booth-meets-confessional stationed at different laundromats in one of the most diverse neighborhood in the United States. After interacting inside the photo booth with the artist and the backdrops, including a world map and a calling card mosaic, participants will receive free instant photographs in exchange for sharing their story.

This project welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to build a sense of community through storytelling. In order to make Jackson Heights a livable community, this installation is allowing long-term residents, newcomers and visitors to connect while valuing the past and cherishing the present.

The Photo Booth Without Borders will be participating in Park(ing) Day on September 18th 2009 — the annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.

And here’s the vid!

The Photo Booth Without Borders from Carlos Martinez on Vimeo.