About Us
Photoworks is a vibrant and unique resource for photographers. Our philosophy is simple: Creative dialogue with fellow photographers, an intimate learning environment, and outstanding faculty are the ingredients for creative growth.
Our Mission
Fifty years ago, in a derelict building hidden among the abandoned amusement park rides of Glen Echo Park, four young photographers founded Photoworks with little more than a shared passion for the daily work of seeing, shooting, and printing images of lasting beauty and artistic integrity. The day-to-day collaboration, creative dialogue, and informal mentoring that led those artists to successful careers as fine art and commercial photographers established the values of experimentation and collegiality that define Photoworks today.
Offering a diverse combination of educational programs, gallery exhibitions, and community initiatives, Photoworks is a vibrant and unique resource for student and professional photographers – an arts community in the very best sense of the word.
Meet Our Team
Karen Keating
Executive Director
Earning an MFA in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Karen combines teaching photography at the Field School, directing and teaching at Photoworks and practicing fine art photography in the documentary style.
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Gayle Rothschild
Board President
Gayle Rothschild is an award winning photographer and educator. Gayle’s career as a fine art photographer began as a student at Photoworks in 1978. She earned an MFA degree from the University of Maryland and began her teaching career at Photoworks in 1983. She has been Exhibitions Director of Photoworks Gallery since 2003.
Gayle's work is found in the collections of the Museum of Fine Art, Houston, Texas and the Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, DC, as well as in many private collections. She has exhibited nationally in numerous group and solo exhibitions. Winner of the Park View Artist Award 2019 in the GEPPAC Labor Day Art Show.
Amy Walker
Treasurer
Amy recently retired as the Director of Finance and Operations at The Siena School in Silver Spring, MD. In addition to her long career in business and finance, Amy worked as an event and portrait photographer after completing the professional program at The Washington School of Photography in 2003.
Liana Bernstein
Social Media Coordinator
Past photography student of Photoworks' Executive Director Karen Keating, Liana hails from Arlington, VA. As Social Media Coordinator she is passionate about creating engaging and thoughtfully-crafted social content. She is a mixed-media artist and yoga teacher.
Sophie McDowell
Marketing Director
Sophie is from Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Central Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She leads communication, marketing, and volunteer efforts at Photoworks. She is a woodcut printmaker and singer-songwriter.
Mac Cosgrove-Davies
Handmade Photo Lead
Mac teaches Historic Photo Processes at Photoworks and runs the Handmade Photo Group that meets on Monday nights. Mac is a self-taught photographer who since 1978 has been practicing historic photographic processes including gum bichromate, cyanotype, VanDyke, palladium, oil printing, and carbon printing. Mac’s images are inspired by his extensive travel to developing countries as well as everyday life in Arlington, VA and elsewhere.
Redeat Wondemu
Artist in Residence
Redeat Wondemu is an Eritrean-born, Ethiopian-American photographer. Her photography journey started in college while studying darkroom film photography. She graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and pursued her nursing career side-by-side with photography training. She focuses on taking portraits using medium format film camera and printing her own work in the darkroom.
