Refocusing on career goals
With a 10-year-old son and several years spent out of school, Concordia seemed like a bold decision for Katia Gosselin — at first.
“When I had Émile, my output as a photographer decreased,” she says. “Now it’s different. We’re both going to school!”
Gosselin started in the Faculty of Fine Arts with a major in photography in 2014. She benefitted from the Peter and Amy Howick Entrance Bursary during that first year.
“The bursary took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” she says. “It’s encouraging to have someone give a push to help you.”
Gosselin, who shoots using analogue equipment, says that photography is a costly medium.
“There’s the camera, lenses, film — and also costs associated with developing the photos in a darkroom,” she says.
Though serious about photography since 2002, Gosselin knew a university degree would open doors for her.
“I want to teach. My ambition is to complete a master’s degree and pursue that,” says Gosselin, who has experience giving private photography courses.
One of a kind
Gosselin relates that a degree from Concordia would make her the first university graduate in her family. “I think it sets a great example for my son, Émile,” she says.
Inspired by the calculated movements of performance art, Gosselin’s photography has appeared in exhibitions at Art Matters at Concordia in 2015; the Centre culturel franco-manitobain in Winnipeg, Man., in 2012; Maison de la culture Maisonneuve in Montreal in 2011 and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.
“A theme I revisit often involves human behaviour. I’m trying to create a story,” says Gosselin.
Her work Sédiments (2009) serves as an example of her caught-in-the-moment photography work.
In addition to being a shutterbug, Gosselin has an entrepreneurial streak. She provides audio-to-text transcriptions through her independent business venture, Verbatim.
“That was my living for a while. I liked it because you often learn something as you’re listening,” says Gosselin, who counted medical doctors among her clientele.
How has she liked Concordia so far? “It’s a great school for photography. I’ve gained experience and met interesting people who are also devoted to this medium.”
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