Reimagining the History of Skiing, One Photo at a Time
In a ‘A New Winter,’ Colombian American photographer Sofía Jaramillo confronts leisure skiing’s inequitable beginnings by recreating historic images at Sun Valley Resort
While visiting the lodge at Idaho’s Sun Valley Resort a few years ago, Colombian-American photographer noticed something disconcerting about the pictures lining the walls. In the images, which date back to the ski hill’s opening in 1936, nearly everyone was white. “That’s when I got the idea—how cool would it be to re-create these, except centering people of color?” Jaramillo says.
With the support of the resort and a grant from the nonprofit , Jaramillo began work on a project called , tapping a team of other creatives to source clothing and props to reshoot 13 of the original photographs. Models included friends who are snow-sports athletes, Colour the Trails founder , and Indigenous activist Quannah ChasingHorse. “We wanted people who are living the mission of this project,” Jaramillo says. She hopes that A New Winter, which goes on display at the Sun Valley Museum of Art in January, inspires a broader conversation about diversifying the slopes. “I believe that art directly influences culture,” she says. “I’m doing this for all the young Black and brown girls and boys out there who don’t see themselves when they walk into a ski resort.”
