Devin Allen

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Devin Allen is an American photographer, photojournalist, and activist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He gained national attention after the Freddie Gray protests in 2015, when his documentary photograph entitled "Baltimore Uprising" was published as Time magazine's May 2015 cover photo.[1] His documentary photo of the George Floyd protests was published as Time's June 2020 cover.[2]

Allen's photographs are held in the Smithsonian collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.[3][4]

Career[]

Baltimore Uprising and other projects (2015–2019)[]

After the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015, Allen—who grew up five minutes from where Freddie Gray's encounter with the police occurred[1]—documented the protests and posted his subsequent photos on Instagram.[5] Across three weeks of the protests, Allen took around 10,000 photos.[6] His images capturing the protests went viral[1] and were covered by the BBC,[7] The Washington Post,[8] The New York Times ,[9] and others.

A photo Allen took of the protests on April 25, 2015 was chosen as Time magazine's May 2015 cover,[10] making Allen the third amateur photographer to be featured on the cover of Time.[3] The photograph, titled Baltimore Uprising, shows a man running away from a pack of charging police officers. After Allen uploaded the photograph from his camera to his phone, it took him several hours to realize the photograph had gone viral, as he had continued photographing the protests until after dark that evening.[1]

In 2015, building off his recent media attention from Time magazine, Allen launched "Through Their Eyes", a youth program that teaches photography to Baltimore city school students, specifically those from districts with underfunded arts education programs. The program includes giving cameras to students, as well as organizing educational workshops and art exhibitions of student work.[11][12][13]

In 2016, Allen's photography exhibit "A Beautiful Ghetto" was held at the Gallery Slought.[5] In 2017, Allen published his first photography book as a coffee table book titled A Beautiful Ghetto.[2][14] The book was nominated for the 49th NAACP Image Awards in the category of "Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author".[15]

Allen was selected as the first recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship in 2017.[2] The Fellowship supported the continuation of his "Through Their Eyes" project.[16]

George Floyd protests (2020–present)[]

After the murder of George Floyd, a Black American killed during an arrest by a white police officer, Allen attended a Baltimore protest on June 5, 2020 organized by demonstrators representing the city's Black transgender community.[2] At the protest, he captured a photograph that was featured on the cover of Time magazine. The photograph shows a protester sitting with a megaphone, while other demonstrators lie down on the ground.[2]

In July 2020, Allen was selected as a Leica Ambassador.[17]

Personal life[]

Allen was born and raised in West Baltimore.[9] As of 2020, Allen is still active in the Baltimore community and says that his goal when documenting events like the protests is to make sure he tells the whole story.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Meet the Amateur Photographer Covering Baltimore's Protests". Time. April 28, 2015. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bates, Josiah (June 10, 2020). "The Story Behind TIME's George Floyd Protest Cover". Time. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b Boyette, Chris (19 January 2016). "How he became 'The Eyes of Baltimore'". CNN. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  4. ^ "A beautiful ghetto / Devin Allen". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  5. ^ a b Rapa, Patrick (29 January 2016). "Devin Allen's "A Beautiful Ghetto" at Slought". Philadelphia. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. ^ "'A Beautiful Ghetto': The powerful photographic vision of a kid from the 'hood". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  7. ^ "The amateur photographer capturing the story of the #BaltimoreRiots". BBC News. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  8. ^ Kennicott, Philip (2016-02-26). "A young photographer made the Baltimore Uprising unforgettable". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  9. ^ a b Richardson, Whitney (24 June 2015). "Devin Allen's Inside Story in Baltimore". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  10. ^ Laurent, Olivier (30 April 2015). "See TIME's Baltimore Cover Shot by an Aspiring Photographer". Time. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  11. ^ Collins, Kiara (28 April 2016). "Devin Allen's youth photography program is helping kids one camera at a time". Blavity News & Politics. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  12. ^ Valentine, Claire (26 September 2017). "Photographer Devin Allen on Capturing His Hometown, "A Beautiful Ghetto"". PAPER. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  13. ^ ""A Beautiful Ghetto" A New Photography Exhibition by 2017 Fellowship Recipient Devin Allen". The Gordon Parks Foundation. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  14. ^ Owens, Donna (August 28, 2017). "'A Beautiful Ghetto': Devin Allen's Images Proclaim Baltimore Resilience". NBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Nominees Announced for 49th NAACP Image Awards". NAACP. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Devin Allen - 2017 Fellowship Recipient". The Gordon Parks Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  17. ^ Andy Day (2020-07-10). "Leica Adds Devin Allen, a Gordon Parks Foundation Fellow, to Its Ambassadors". Fstoppers. Retrieved 2020-10-31.

External links[]

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