Squatters

A group of young artists and residents of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, most of them immigrants, took over two buildings in the late 80s and turned them into self-sustainable homes and community centers. The buildings, renamed Puerta 10 and Umbrella House, gave new life to the neighborhood while catching the attention of real estate developers. Catalina Santamaría has been documenting their history since 1997 when she met one of the residents of Umbrella House. In Squatters, she incorporates video footage shot by the residents, who planned to produce their own documentary, as a tribute to a community that came together to build its own utopia.