BDC Volunteer Spotlight: Coline Chevrin
Introducing our volunteer for this month's BDC Volunteer spotlight: Coline Chevrin! We are incredibly grateful to Coline for her ongoing support and thank her for being an integral part of our team. We spoke with Coline to gain insights into her experiences and inspirations.
The BDC's initiatives are made possible by the dedicated efforts of our dynamic volunteer team. Their generosity extends crucial support across a spectrum of programs and events, encompassing exhibitions, street fairs, film screenings, and various public programs. BDC volunteers have access to free workshops and darkroom nights, and 30% merch.
If you are interested in volunteering with us, please fill out the application at the link in our bio. Questions? Email our Volunteer Coordinator Sal at sal@bronxdoc.org.
Do you remember your first real connection with photography, either an image or a camera or something else?
When I was a kid in France, my public school used to organize week-long discovery trips at the sea or to rural areas. My mum would always get me a disposable camera so I could take photos and then she would get them printed for me. I had to wait for her to have a few films to print too and I remember being super excited to discover the pictures. She gave me her old film camera later on as a teenager (my grandpa was really into photography and I think she got that from him). She always took photos of family events and trips and she used to make amazing handmade photobooks - she is a great family documentary photographer! The books are still in my parents' living room and I love to look at them. It's different now with digital cameras. However, I never thought of myself as a photographer. Last year I bought my first real camera and I started taking a workshop with Belinda at the BDC and it was incredible to discover how much I loved it, I became a little obsessed and I have been consistently going to the BDC to learn more since then.
How has working at the BDC impacted you or your work?
In the first place, I love the community at the BDC. It has been amazing to meet all these photographers and to receive such strong guidance and support. It's also really beautiful to see how other students who started last year like me have grown. Photography became an integral part of my work. I am a human geographer so I always observe people in their spaces, and now I am learning to pay attention to light too! More seriously, geography and photography are intertwining beautifully. I have fully incorporated photography in my research project and I hope to have beautiful images of the communities I work with. No one will read a PhD dissertation, but I am convinced the photos will have a bigger impact. I think people can connect to them and get moved by the struggles I document.
What are some of your favorite photographers, photobooks, or photo projects?
I am really inspired by Pablo E. Piovano's book "The Human Cost of Agrotoxins". My friend Erica Voget, who is a great photographer from Argentina, gave it to me when she came to the Latin American Photography Festival at the BDC (check the work of her collective "Cuerpas Reales, Hinchas reales"). The book is about the impact of intensive soybean production in Argentina so it connects to my work since I analyze the impacts of this same production model on the city of Rosario, also in Argentina. So many communities are affected by this issue, be it due to contamination, impoverishment or displacement. The book shows gorgeous black and white photos, in contrast with the terrible impacts of the chemicals on people's lives and bodies. It is such a strong book.