The call arrived in the early evening, a sudden summons to document a story that had been three decades in the making. An editor from The London Times reached out to San Diego-based photographer Jimmy Galt with a time-sensitive request: The next morning, an ice cream seller named Francisco Duarte would be leaving the United States, his home of 30 years, to self-deport. For Jimmy, a multidisciplinary photographer and filmmaker with a deep background in international humanitarian work, the assignment represented a return to his documentary roots. "Francisco wanted his story to be told and welcomed me, knowing I was there to do just that," Galt says.

  If a neighborhood's memory is held in its creative spaces, then East Harlem is currently a vivid, breathing archive. This weekend, the East Harlem Open Studios (EHOS) returns, transforming private workrooms into public forums for conversation and discovery. From 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday, more than 25 artists and galleries invite you to see the "marks we leave in the world"—those stories about how they navigate the messy creative process that bri...