Name: Nicole Chan ‘17
School and Major: NYU Shanghai for Interactive Media Arts
Hometown: Naperville, IL
In light of International Women’s Day and the month of March, aka Women’s History Month, Nicole Chan and fellow contributing photographers (Brian Ho, David Santiano, Millie Wong) from NYU Shanghai have collaborated on a groundbreaking project called CELEBRATE WOMEN: a platform for women to share their stories of empowerment. Each participant chooses an object of significance, whether that be a book, tattoo, or perhaps a piece of jewelry. Whatever the object may be, through this project, women are able to dauntlessly explore and share their identity as they personally choose to, not as society tells them. Read on to learn more about Nicole’s inspiring vision of shattering stereotypes and absolute self-expression.
HC NYU: What originally emboldened you to create your project, CELEBRATE WOMEN?
NC: Frankly, I think the origin of a lot of ideas is actually much less glamorous than people may think. In this case, my aunt gave me a sweater that says, “The future is female,” and I immediately wanted to take a self-portrait while wearing it. I thought, “how great would it be to have a picture of myself representing a cause I believe in?” From there, I began to think: How great would it be if other people could share this experience? It’s relatively easy for me to take a nice portrait of myself, but that isn’t the case for most people. So after reflecting on how this type of portrait was something I wanted, I started thinking of ways to involve other people. My original self-portrait idea was also focused around International Women’s Day, so I stuck with that as a project theme.
Something more specific that inspired CELEBRATE WOMEN is an interview I watched a few months ago of Ariana Grande. The radio host asked Ariana if she would rather live without her phone or her makeup. Ariana immediately called the DJ out for asking a sexist question. Phones and makeup are both nice things, but the implication that they are the only things that are important to women is wrong. If a girl is truly empowered by her phone and/or makeup, that’s great! But that’s not every women, and it’s not anybody’s full story. It’s also worth asking, how many of us would have actually noticed how sexist the DJ’s question was if Ariana hadn’t called him out?
HC NYU: CELEBRATE WOMEN is an international project, active both in NYC and Shanghai. What have you discovered from this multidimensional approach?
NC: I really wanted to make this an international project once it started garnering more attention. Given NYU’s network and my connection with the Shanghai campus, I saw potential. Our project is about celebrating the diversity of women, so adding this geographical element adds another layer of complexity, alongside the different ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds of participants. The series is a commentary showing the great universality in diversity. We’re similar, yet very different. That’s the beauty of it and why it matters.
“Music makes me more confident because it is energizing. When I am walking down the street and an empowering song comes through on my playlist, I instantly feel like I can accomplish anything. I strut towards my future to the beat blasting through my headphones.” – Danielle Elmers
HC NYU: Can you describe a typical photoshoot session for your project?
NC: Each photoshoot lasts approximately thirty minutes. The first five minutes is a project recap and quick modeling lesson. If nothing else, a little bit of chatting helps the participant feel more comfortable. Shooting lasts about 20 minutes. I reserve the last five minutes for the participant to review the images and choose her favorites. She then has a couple days to decide which photograph she wants me to work with, and to send me her caption.
I want the process to be personal and intimate. It’s a personal photoshoot, not a public photobooth. There are other projects that have used photography as a mechanism for empowering women, but I think mine is a little different. My project is me saying: “I am a photographer, let me help you have control over your visual narrative.” I’m asking participants to use me as a tool to get where they want to be. Painting yourself is different than having an experienced painter paint you. It’s like that. Participants choose their own poses, props, clothing and the final image. I try to give them as much creative control as possible. This project is about vulnerability because the person is showing a part of her soul, and I want to respect that.
“My education empowers me because it has exposed me to many incredible opportunities that have shaped and developed who I am, giving me strength and confidence in my voice and ability.” – Krista Young
HC NYU: You’ve been photographed for this project, and you chose to pose in your sweater from your Aunt. What does this say about you?
NC: I wore my sweater along with the hat that I always wear when I dance. Dance, photography and feminism all empower me, and are tools by which I can empower other people. So in my photo I wanted to highlight all those elements. To delve into each one a little bit, photography is something I started when I felt extremely insecure about my appearance. Through learning all the tips and tricks on how to get a “great” image I realized how fake everything is. You shouldn’t feel bad about not looking like the girl on the billboard, because the girl on the billboard doesn’t look like that either! Everybody knows ads are photoshopped, but actually learning photoshop helped me realize the magnitude of it.
Dance has also helped me feel more comfortable with my appearance, but with specifically my body. It has absolutely made me more confident. When I dance I feel like I’m in total control and can emotionally discharge into an almost alternative space. Feminism is perhaps most obvious, and empowers me by reminding me that I am worth more than what society continually tells me. I am worth more than my appearance and the capacity to have babies.
“Dance empowers me. It helped me break out of a cocoon of personal insecurities and from there I’ve learned to love my body and myself.” – Nicole Chan
HC NYU: Contrary to what people may assume, you’re not studying photography. How did your journey with photography begin?
NC: Funny story, my interest in photography started in junior high because all my friends had cameras and were constantly taking and uploading what I thought were bad pictures of me. So to combat that, I wanted my own camera so I could upload pictures that I thought I looked good in. Looking back, it was just junior high. All the photos are bad just because. I also had terrible acne, so that motivated me to learn photo editing. Great things can come from really terrible places.
Not being a photography major can cause people to automatically discredit me. A few weeks ago, I told a guy that I wasn’t a photography major, and he said, “people won’t take your photography seriously anyways because you’re not competition.” This was insulting, but I’m not embarrassed or ashamed by my lack of formal photography education. I think my work can speak for itself. Besides, the way I approach photography is influenced and inspired by having a lot of external influences. I pull inspiration and information from wherever it comes, whether it’s the courses I’ve taken, manga I’ve read, slam poetry I’ve heard, or TED talks I’ve watched.
HC NYU: Who are some of your role models who inspired your activism?
NC: I have a great friend named Chava Schapira who also goes to NYU Shanghai. We’ve been friends for years now, and she’s really the one who got me into feminism. Chava helped me become aware of little nuances around me. For example, a lot of swear words are gendered. Rihanna doesn’t ask a male dog if it has her money. Why is that? I also admire an artist named Asher Jay, who I met at a UN conference. Asher is a passionate advocate for environmental protection who uses digital art as a medium to promote conservationist causes. Seeing her work made me wonder how I could use my skillsets for greater causes.
“My Judaism empowers me. I am comforted by the knowledge that curiosity, justice, and kindness are at the core of my cultural heritage, and having that heritage makes me more secure as I navigate the world around me. Being Jewish means that thousands of years guided all of my ancestors, my fellow Jews, and myself, and now it is my chance to carry on that cultural heritage.” – Chava Schapira
HC NYU: What do you hope both women and men will ultimately gain from your work?
NC: I hope CELEBRATE WOMEN makes people think about gender stereotypes. I asked participants, “What empowers you?” and was consistently amazed by the creativity and thoughtfulness people came to me with. Women are complex beings. Women are people. People are people. It’s a message that gets lost when DJ talk show hosts can ask young female performing artists to choose between a phone or makeup. It’s a message that gets ignored when all the athletic and professional emojis are male. It’s a message that has become so invisible that we often don’t even notice the microaggressions hiding in every subtle aspect of our society.
In movies we often hear the line, “I’m not like the other girls.” But who are these other girls and what is so bad about being like other girls? It’s my hope that CELEBRATE WOMEN challenges this notion by showcasing how awesome it is to be a girl, and especially a girl who is is comfortable loving what she loves.
“Education is empowering; but more importantly, learning about other cultures in other parts of the world and being inspired to travel outside of my comfort zone is what pushes me to be unique, brave, and fearless. Knowledge and understanding are powerful, and they are what inspire me to be a wonderfully feminine, youthful changemaker on a macro level.” – Rachel Marie McCave
And to wrap it up…
3 Words to Describe Feminism: Equality, Respect, Awareness
How You Like Your Bagel: I love sweets, so cinnamon raisin bagels with honey almond cream cheese.
Current Artist on Replay: Halsey
Favorite Holiday: Christmas, because I get to see my family.
Follow Nicole on Social Media!
Facebook: Nico le Chan
Instagram: @nicolattes
Tumblr: nicolattes.tumblr.com
Access Nicole’s project, CELEBRATE WOMEN on March 8, International Women’s Day.