If the Bronx still largely stands for exclusion and crime, the Bronx Documentary Center, set up in 2011, has become one of those initiatives that are breaking down boundaries and prejudices. Or how to strengthen social ties and enhance community through documentary photography.
Set in the notorious Bronx, a district shunned by New Yorkers and tourists for decades, the Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) is a dedicated space for documentary photography that in five years has succeeded the challenge of bringing together photo buffs and locals with an interest in contemporary social and cultural issues. “At Chelsea, you only see whites at opening nights, while the only colored people present are staff,” said Michael Kamber (in an interview in 2014), photojournalist and co-founder of BDC with Danielle Jackson, a former cultural director of Magnum Photos New York. The BDC’s mission is to address issues of justice and social progress through documentary, to inform and educate neglected Bronx communities about photography and showcase the work of photographers and filmmakers, both emerging figures and those with international reputations. With its window looking straight onto the street, the BDC is a homey, non-profit space, where it is good to look, read, learn, gather and swap ideas.
On his return in early 2011 from Iraq, where he had covered events for the American press, Michael Kamber declared his desire to create a space devoted to documentary photography. Also involved in the project was his friend Tim Hetherington, photographer and Oscar nominee for his film Restrepo, who was killed in Misrata, Libya, on 20 April of the same year. The location was a natural choice. “I’ve lived here since the 1980s. The Bronx community is one of the poorest in the United States,” he stated. “ There aren’t many cultural spaces. If the media go there at all it’s to cover dramatic news stories and not many projects are developed for its inhabitants. We’re trying to initiate wide-range discussions using documentary photography and journalism, and addressing the social issues affecting local populations. We have no ambition to start a nationwide debate but we can at least start one here.”
For five years, the Bronx Documentary Center has presented four exhibitions each year—often multidisciplinary, plus some thirty roundtables, numerous documentary films, portfolio reviews and monthly workshops. These activities are free and open to everyone. The center even offers special events for Easter, Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day— families can come and be photographed by a professional and leave with a free print. It has a busy, purposeful schedule, which has included several notable exhibitions, including Visions: Tim Hetherington (2012), a tribute to the photographer, and INVASION: Diaries and Memories of War in Iraq (2013), which mingled photographs by Gary Knight, writings by the New York Times’ Peter Maass and the war diary of American lieutenant Timothy McLaughlin. The latest? On view this month: Eugene Richards, Below The Line : Living Poor in America, a series of photographs of the famous photojournalist who portrayed the poor America in the 80s.
The workshops may be led by seasoned professionals such as photographer Stephanie Sinclair from the VII agency, or documentarian Ross Kauffman. A sampling of its schedule: Everybody Street by Cheryl Dunn, a fascinating documentary on the street photography tradition in the United States, From Fatherless To Fatherhood: the Impact of Paternal Absence on Black Families, Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dream, or FelaKuti: Music Is the Weapon, recording the Nigerian singer’s political commitment. In its social involvement, the BDC favors a major project: education. It has created close ties with neighboring schools. “A class was held in 2014 as a tie-in to a Ben Fernandez exhibition,” recalled Michael Kamber. “We talked about how to bring out the differences between then and now, as well as what needs to be changed.” Danielle Jackson continued: “When we organized the Gabriele Stabile exhibition Refugee Hotel (2013), showing the plight of refugees in our country, a young Malian girl said she now understood why her mother spent so little time with her: she was working hard to give her a normal life. This is exactly what we want to achieve: for people to see their own lives in photographs. And it’s a chance for them to come together and talk.”
The BDC also wants to be a bridge between the media and Bronx photographers, who were isolated before the center opened, seeking to create opportunities for them. “ There’s real talent in the Bronx and a real history of photography covering several decades,” explained Michael Kamber. “One of the young people now emerging is Edwin Torres, twenty-six years old. We took him under our wing and he became a professional photographer and is a regular freelancer for the New York Times.”
These activities and events are made possible by a diversified but fragile economic model: the financial support of sponsors, such as the Ford Foundation and New York State, plus individual donors (35,000 dollars were received in 2014 from crowd-funding to finance the upcoming program), not to mention volunteer work and in-kind support, essential to start the adventure. After five years of existence, at the crossroads between cultures, classes and creative disciplines, the BDC enabled the Bronx to open up to the world and working from the inside to change the gaze cast on it.
Jonas Cuénin
The Bronx Documentary Center celebrates its five year anniversary and raises funds for its future, in an annual photo auction on Thursday, October 13, 2016. The auction features the works of over 40 internationally renowned and emerging photographers – such as Peter Van Agtmael, Donna Ferrato, Ed Kashi, Eugene Richards, Nina Robinson, Damon Winter, Ricky Flores or Edwin Torres. Proceeds will fund educational programs, exhibitions and public programming. Many of the most influential photographers in photojournalism, portraiture, landscape and documentary photography have donated images for this auction.
The BDC partners with Paddle8 for its auction. To register and start bidding, visit Paddle8.com. Bidding will close on October 13 at 9PM.
The images in this portfolio are among those that will be on sale. A special event will be held at Brooklyn Brewery on Thursday.
