Johnny Cirillo: Watching New York
About this episode
Emily McElwreath interviews photographer Johnny Cirillo about his influential portrait project Watching New York and its impact on the community.
In Season 8, Episode 1 of The Art Career Podcast, Emily sits down with Johnny Cirillo, the photographer and visual storyteller behind Watching New York — one of the most influential portrait projects documenting contemporary life in the city today. Born in Jackson Heights, Queens, Johnny developed an early passion for photography as a teenager on Long Island, after his mother gave him his first 35mm camera and shared her own black-and-white photographs from the 1960s. What began as an obsession quickly became a practice: rolling his own film, building a darkroom, and photographing friends as he explored the medium from the inside out. Through Watching New York, Johnny has built and connected a global community of more than 2 million people united by a shared love for New York — its people, its fashion, and its everyday magic. His work is rooted in attention and intimacy, capturing fleeting moments that feel both deeply personal and collectively recognizable. Johnny has collaborated with brands including Airbnb, Gucci, AMI Paris, Balenciaga, GQ, Burberry, Adidas, Away, and Free People, and has interviewed artists and cultural figures such as Halsey, Ethan Hawke, Colman Domingo…
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