ROCKPORT, Maine – The Workshops Gallery at Maine Media Workshops welcomes the community to the first opening reception of the season with two exhibitions of fine photographs Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30PM.
Remembering Karen Val Allsburg, June 8 – July 1, is a tribute to the memory of the beloved Midcoast photographer and past president of Maine Media Women. After Karen lost her battle with breast cancer at the early age of 51, her family and friends requested that gifts be made in her memory to support a Maine Media Women’s photography scholarship in her name through Maine Media Workshops, of which she was an alumna.
The exhibition features Karen’s work alongside photographs by four women who have been awarded the scholarship. All proceeds from the sale of work will benefit the scholarship fund. Remembering Karen Van Allsburg is made possible through the generosity of PDQ Photo, Douglas Smith, and Maine Media Women. The reception features live music courtesy of Mike Whitehead and Steve Lindsay.
The evening also celebrates the work of two graduates of the Maine Media College Master of Fine Arts Program in photography, Matthew Smolinsky and Deanna Witman.
After a brief career as a newspaper photojournalist, Smolinsky spent three years teaching and photographing in Korea before moving to Maine in 2005. He currently teaches photography courses for teens at Maine Media Workshops and for middle schoolers in the S.T.A.R. program.
Deanna Witman’s photographs are a selection of images from a body of work created with a large format pinhole camera documenting a journey of internal and external spaces. The photos are a form of visual autobiography, a photographic journal of her experiences as a graduate student beginning in 2005 in Seoul, Korea, and ending three years later in Maine.
The Workshops Gallery is located on the second-floor of historic Union Hall at 2 Central Street in Rockport Village.