Art
Bell Collective
Written by: Filipa Araújo
Bell Collective
A Collective Of Women Redefining The Way We See Travel Photography
The Bell Collective comprises female (-identifying) photographers and creators. Founded by photographer Alina Rudya, this collective uses visual storytelling to redefine the woman traveler and challenge how we see female travel photography. They work on multiple projects and have collaborated with big names like Nikon and Mercedes-Benz. As an open collective, they work with women from all over the world, with different visions and backgrounds, who share a common goal: showcasing a variety of powerful perspectives of the world. Last year, the Bell Collective co-organized the Female Photo Days event in Berlin, Germany. An open invitation to female and non-binary photographers to empower creative female voices and create a space for emerging talent in the industry.
In 2019, they also released a book named “Bell Collective,” where we are invited to follow the path of 14 amazing women as they share life through their lens and allow us a sneak peek into their worlds. From big busy cities, between endless hot deserts and snowy white mountains, from intrepid road trips and wandering off the beaten path, we get to explore different corners of the world, with some powerful insights into travel and photography along the way.
Inspired by the iconic Gertrude Bell, a famous British adventurer, archaeologist, travel writer, political officer, and a collective role model of the photographers, this book reminds us that we come from a legacy of powerful women pioneers that helped pave the way for our paths in an often male-dominated world.
In 2019, they also released a book named “Bell Collective,” where we are invited to follow the path of 14 amazing women as they share life through their lens and allow us a sneak peek into their worlds. From big busy cities, between endless hot deserts and snowy white mountains, from intrepid road trips and wandering off the beaten path, we get to explore different corners of the world, with some powerful insights into travel and photography along the way.
Inspired by the iconic Gertrude Bell, a famous British adventurer, archaeologist, travel writer, political officer, and a collective role model of the photographers, this book reminds us that we come from a legacy of powerful women pioneers that helped pave the way for our paths in an often male-dominated world.
Alina Rudya, professional photographer and founder of Bell Collective
Alina Rudya, professional photographer and founder of Bell Collective
Bell Collective
Challenging female stereotypes
When Rudya founded the Bell Collective, she had a clear view of the future of the photography industry: “I created Bell Collective because I saw that women creators were misrepresented on social media. Women were seen as muses and models rather than adventurers, explorers, and artists. I wanted to create a collective of female photographers who show the world through their perspective and have a different angle on what traveling means.”
The idea is to use visual storytelling to challenge stereotypes about female travel and creative choices. In a male-dominated creative world, women often face issues regarding access to the industry and representation. Rudya explains the importance of having female representation in the industry: “Since the majority of photographers and creators in the journalistic, editorial, and commercial area are still men, we are often faced with the male gaze and lack of representation in advertisement, both in the creative teams & final product. Showcasing female creators and working with female & non-binary teams on commercial projects helps to balance the scene & show different areas of interest, life, and expertise.”
The girls and women of tomorrow should get to experience a world free of imposed identities and stereotypes, and for Rudya, it is vital to showcase women who are strong, adventurous, fierce, and who challenge the idea of the fragile woman. “Role models are important for younger girls who are standing before a career choice, and seeing professional women who do not follow the established gender stereotypes will help to encourage the young generation to think out of the box, follow their true passion without a fear of being judged, and fix the imbalance in many professional fields.”
The idea is to use visual storytelling to challenge stereotypes about female travel and creative choices. In a male-dominated creative world, women often face issues regarding access to the industry and representation. Rudya explains the importance of having female representation in the industry: “Since the majority of photographers and creators in the journalistic, editorial, and commercial area are still men, we are often faced with the male gaze and lack of representation in advertisement, both in the creative teams & final product. Showcasing female creators and working with female & non-binary teams on commercial projects helps to balance the scene & show different areas of interest, life, and expertise.”
The girls and women of tomorrow should get to experience a world free of imposed identities and stereotypes, and for Rudya, it is vital to showcase women who are strong, adventurous, fierce, and who challenge the idea of the fragile woman. “Role models are important for younger girls who are standing before a career choice, and seeing professional women who do not follow the established gender stereotypes will help to encourage the young generation to think out of the box, follow their true passion without a fear of being judged, and fix the imbalance in many professional fields.”
Alina Rudya, professional photographer and founder of Bell Collective
Alina Rudya, professional photographer and founder of Bell Collective
Alina Rudya, professional photographer and founder of Bell Collective
The face behind the concept
Alina Rudya was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She originally moved to Berlin to follow her passion for photography and ended up falling in love with the city, where she’s been living for 13 years now. She studied visual communication and photography at the Berlin University of Arts and the Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Her interest in photography was passed on from her father, a nuclear physicist with a fondness for the camera. She recalls when her father brought home a National Geographic magazine from one of his trips to the US as the specific moment when her love for photography started. At the tender age of 9, young Rudya discovered the power of telling stories through visuals, and the camera became her vessel for storytelling.
Growing up, Rudya struggled to find a community where she would fit. Moving to Berlin and discovering the art world allowed her to find this community of powerful women who have helped her grow and elevate her art form. “I love meeting other women who have the same passions as me. Growing up, I rarely met people who were interested in the same things as I were—both men and women, but now finally, I have a great circle of amazing women who are inspiring me and others with their passion, dedication, and talent.”
Her interest in photography was passed on from her father, a nuclear physicist with a fondness for the camera. She recalls when her father brought home a National Geographic magazine from one of his trips to the US as the specific moment when her love for photography started. At the tender age of 9, young Rudya discovered the power of telling stories through visuals, and the camera became her vessel for storytelling.
Growing up, Rudya struggled to find a community where she would fit. Moving to Berlin and discovering the art world allowed her to find this community of powerful women who have helped her grow and elevate her art form. “I love meeting other women who have the same passions as me. Growing up, I rarely met people who were interested in the same things as I were—both men and women, but now finally, I have a great circle of amazing women who are inspiring me and others with their passion, dedication, and talent.”
Kolmanskopp, Namibia
Kolmanskopp, Namibia
Kolmanskopp, Namibia
Community and Learning
Rudya has traveled all over the world and explored some breathtaking places, from the eclectic streets of Japan to the colorful mosques of Iran to the quiet mountains of Iceland, she’s been capturing movement and stillness and using her camera to tell the stories of our land, and the different people and cultures that walk it.
When asked to talk about her favorite trip so far, Rudya couldn’t name just one and reminisces about three of her most impactful adventures to date.
She first takes us on a journey to the sandy stretches of Namibia, where she traveled a few years ago with a girlfriend and fellow photographer. Here she experienced the tranquility and stillness of untouched land under the harsh sun that burns your skin during the day and the magical dance of a starry night: “Driving for hours through the deserted landscape, visiting an abandoned mining town in the middle of the desert, sleeping in a tent under the Milky Way was truly unforgettable.”
On our next stop, she brings us to the Grand Canyon in the US, an emotionally charged place for Rudya, as visiting this incredible natural work of art brought back some memories. “The American West has a special place in my heart. My father visited Arizona in 1994 and promised we would go to the Grand Canyon one day. He passed away in 2006 without being able to make the trip, so going to the Grand Canyon was on my Bucket List. It was one of the most breathtaking and heartbreaking experiences in my life because of the unimaginable beauty and grandeur of the place combined with the bittersweet memory of my father being there and experiencing the same feelings.”
For the final stop, Rudya brings us to a very special place on a trip that was one of the most intense and deeply personal experiences for the photographer. This time, Rudya returned to her roots in Ukraine, to the now abandoned city where she holds memories of a painful past. She reflects on the impact this trip had on her: “Going back to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the ghost town of Pripyat, which my family and I were evacuated from after the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster of 1986. My photography book Prypyat mon Amour resulted from multiple trips to Prypyat with people like me who were evacuated from the area. It was a very personal and cathartic project.”
When asked to talk about her favorite trip so far, Rudya couldn’t name just one and reminisces about three of her most impactful adventures to date.
She first takes us on a journey to the sandy stretches of Namibia, where she traveled a few years ago with a girlfriend and fellow photographer. Here she experienced the tranquility and stillness of untouched land under the harsh sun that burns your skin during the day and the magical dance of a starry night: “Driving for hours through the deserted landscape, visiting an abandoned mining town in the middle of the desert, sleeping in a tent under the Milky Way was truly unforgettable.”
On our next stop, she brings us to the Grand Canyon in the US, an emotionally charged place for Rudya, as visiting this incredible natural work of art brought back some memories. “The American West has a special place in my heart. My father visited Arizona in 1994 and promised we would go to the Grand Canyon one day. He passed away in 2006 without being able to make the trip, so going to the Grand Canyon was on my Bucket List. It was one of the most breathtaking and heartbreaking experiences in my life because of the unimaginable beauty and grandeur of the place combined with the bittersweet memory of my father being there and experiencing the same feelings.”
For the final stop, Rudya brings us to a very special place on a trip that was one of the most intense and deeply personal experiences for the photographer. This time, Rudya returned to her roots in Ukraine, to the now abandoned city where she holds memories of a painful past. She reflects on the impact this trip had on her: “Going back to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the ghost town of Pripyat, which my family and I were evacuated from after the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster of 1986. My photography book Prypyat mon Amour resulted from multiple trips to Prypyat with people like me who were evacuated from the area. It was a very personal and cathartic project.”
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
Prypyat mon Amour
The photography book Prypyat mon Amour, meaning Prypyat my love, is a collection of memories of a place that once held life, joy, and laugher, and where now only the shadows of these memories still live on. The photo series portrays a group of people who, like Rudya, were evacuated from the city of Prypyat after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Rudya portrays them in their old homes, workplaces, the places they used to go to enjoy a sunny afternoon, the places where they were once happy. The book also includes interviews and an essay reflecting on this journey of remembering after forced displacement.
For Rudya, it was important to focus on the impact on life and the celebration of memories instead of showcasing a ghost town. She speaks of the message behind the project, “I didn’t want to show another picture of an abandoned city. Many photographers showed that side of the story. By looking at the pictures of the abandoned buildings, we see ‘absence of people,’ thus forgetting about thousands of those who left and are now still living a seemingly normal life, but at the same time, their lives will never be absolutely normal, because they were all more or less, directly or indirectly, marked by this disaster. I wanted to show the emotions of these people, triggered by coming back to the town of their youth. “Prypyat is a town of my youth. And how can one forget his youth?” – says Viktor, a former nuclear physicist and a current painter.”
This project was particularly intense for the Ukrainian photographer, as it brought back a mix of memories and feelings regarding her past and the loss of her father. She opens up about how significant this project was for her own closure: “I was evacuated from Chernobyl as a kid, and my father worked at the station on the night of the Chernobyl disaster. It was a personal project for me, something I needed to do to close that chapter of my life. My father passed away when I was 21 from the consequences of the radiation exposure, which influenced me a lot and made me rethink this horrible part of my life, which I don’t even remember but which completely changed my destiny, and the destiny of hundreds of thousands of people.”
For Rudya, this project was a big undertaking and proved emotionally harder than what the photographer thought at first. Being back in a place that had such an impact in her life and the life of others was difficult and nostalgic. She reflects on some realizations from working with this group of people, “It was harder emotionally than I thought. It took me a while to work on each interview because every time I was reading the words of these people, mentally, I was going back, seeing these empty apartments, fragile remains of the past, thinking of all the beautiful moments they’ve had in the town and its surroundings. The whole project made me realize how beautiful and unique the city was, how young all the people were, and that the most beautiful and meaningful memories of their youth are connected to that place. They don’t have a place they can go back to commemorate their wedding anniversary other than a ruin in an abandoned city. They cannot visit their old school because it collapsed, they cannot be nostalgic without being tremendously sad for all the things which happened to them and even more for those which didn’t happen because their lives were interrupted by the disaster.”
A beautiful testament to life, resilience, and memories, Prypyat mon Amour is a photo book that promises to leave no one indifferent, and reminds us of our fragile life is, and the importance of cherishing every ordinary moment of our lives.
For Rudya, it was important to focus on the impact on life and the celebration of memories instead of showcasing a ghost town. She speaks of the message behind the project, “I didn’t want to show another picture of an abandoned city. Many photographers showed that side of the story. By looking at the pictures of the abandoned buildings, we see ‘absence of people,’ thus forgetting about thousands of those who left and are now still living a seemingly normal life, but at the same time, their lives will never be absolutely normal, because they were all more or less, directly or indirectly, marked by this disaster. I wanted to show the emotions of these people, triggered by coming back to the town of their youth. “Prypyat is a town of my youth. And how can one forget his youth?” – says Viktor, a former nuclear physicist and a current painter.”
This project was particularly intense for the Ukrainian photographer, as it brought back a mix of memories and feelings regarding her past and the loss of her father. She opens up about how significant this project was for her own closure: “I was evacuated from Chernobyl as a kid, and my father worked at the station on the night of the Chernobyl disaster. It was a personal project for me, something I needed to do to close that chapter of my life. My father passed away when I was 21 from the consequences of the radiation exposure, which influenced me a lot and made me rethink this horrible part of my life, which I don’t even remember but which completely changed my destiny, and the destiny of hundreds of thousands of people.”
For Rudya, this project was a big undertaking and proved emotionally harder than what the photographer thought at first. Being back in a place that had such an impact in her life and the life of others was difficult and nostalgic. She reflects on some realizations from working with this group of people, “It was harder emotionally than I thought. It took me a while to work on each interview because every time I was reading the words of these people, mentally, I was going back, seeing these empty apartments, fragile remains of the past, thinking of all the beautiful moments they’ve had in the town and its surroundings. The whole project made me realize how beautiful and unique the city was, how young all the people were, and that the most beautiful and meaningful memories of their youth are connected to that place. They don’t have a place they can go back to commemorate their wedding anniversary other than a ruin in an abandoned city. They cannot visit their old school because it collapsed, they cannot be nostalgic without being tremendously sad for all the things which happened to them and even more for those which didn’t happen because their lives were interrupted by the disaster.”
A beautiful testament to life, resilience, and memories, Prypyat mon Amour is a photo book that promises to leave no one indifferent, and reminds us of our fragile life is, and the importance of cherishing every ordinary moment of our lives.
Bell Collective
Bell Collective
Bell Collective
What the future holds
For the Bell Collective, 2023 is an exciting year filled with new projects on the horizon. Early this year, the collective began shaping into a production studio based in Berlin with many exciting projects in store. This production studio works with female and non-binary creators, producers, and visual storytellers to curate fresh and cutting-edge content. Rudya gives us a sneak-peak of this new venture, “The new website is coming up soon, and we are working on growing a bigger network of artists and creators from various backgrounds in the future. We are looking forward to developing our Bell Collective production studio and have the first projects of the year already in planning.”
They will also organize another edition of the Female Photo Days event in Berlin. Rudya tells us all about it, “This coming year, Bell Collective will be organizing another Female Photo Days event in Berlin, which I am really looking forward to. This event will have photography and videography workshops, as well as masterclasses from women to women. Last year’s event proved to be very inspiring, helpful, and encouraging for many aspiring photographers.”
As the future brightens for the Bell Collective, we are reminded of the importance of representation for girls. Initiatives like the Bell Collective show our daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends that women belong in all places. We are the explorers, the adventurers, and the never-ending curious minds, and the world is our classroom. 
TrooRa Magazine
Written by
Filipa Araújo
Faro, Portugal
