Monika Merva: The City of Children

The City of Children by Monika MervaOver the course of seven years, New York based photographer Monika Merva has been documenting the everyday life at the City of Chidren - a housing facility for children from underpriviledged and poverty-stricken families, founded by Hungarian government in the late 1950s. As a first-generation American of Hungarian descent, Monika's interest in City of Children was rooted in her personal experience. As a child she spent her summer holidays in Hungary and has learnt the language, which was essential in making this intimate, long term project possible. Merva tells the bittersweet story of children growing up together, separated from their families. Shot with a medium format camera in a natural light, the pictures reveal the sensitivity of their author. It took Monika around a year to obtain permission to shoot at the City of Children. The agreement of the guardians was just the first step, though. The real challenge was to win the trust of the children who have already experienced hardship despite their young age. But Monika brought empathy and compassion as well as skill to this project, and that's visible in the children’s responses. They let her into their private space and she honored their trust with vivid, memorable portraits. She returned to the facility the following year, and kept coming each year after that through 2009. Her book City of Children was first published by Kehrer in 2010. "Having visited the City of Children many times over the years, I have become impressed by the quiet, and often hidden, power and beauty. The community has its distinguishing characteristics, but if you dig deeper, you will find that there exists a direct connection between these surface traits and the universal truths that lie just beneath, truths about human nature and condition we all share. I believe the home is where our strength lies. It's the source of everything, where all our fears, questions, love, and a sense of belonging originate." Words: Monika Merva, Thisispaper Photography: Monika Merva