03 99 Cents
99 cents store, dollar store, discount store, bargain store, variety store, dollar tree. These places have many names and represent a ubiquitous but oftentimes invisible part of New York City's landscape.
with Daphne Lundi as Laudi CoLab
Exhibit:
99 Cents Up & Up
Data through Design. 2022
Writing:
God’s Garage
Published in Urban Omnibus. 2023
In many neighborhoods, particularly in low-income and Black and brown communities, where major chains or supermarkets choose not to locate, 99 cents stores fill in the gap and can serve as places for purchasing low-cost food, home goods, school supplies, beauty products, and clothing. Even though the demand of these stores is the result of exclusion, they have also become resources for creativity and homemaking, allowing people to DIY projects, and make improvements to their homes while spending a relatively small amount of money. No two 99 cents stores are the same: some are chain stores that made a calculated decision to locate in low-income neighborhoods, but many are mom-and-pop shops that provide immigrant communities the opportunity for business ownership. Through data mapping and visual interplays, we want to make visible discount stores - their textures and products - and examine how we value, display, and see 99 cents objects.