Sunscape – The Creative Portrait: High Desert Edition with Rania Matar (In-Person Learning)

About

In-Person Learning

The High Desert has long drawn artists, seekers, and dreamers with its expansive light, quiet landscapes, and profound sense of place. In this immersive Sunscape workshop, internationally acclaimed photographer Rania Matar invites participants to explore the creative portrait as an act of collaboration, empathy, and discovery—using the unique environment of Southern California’s high desert region as both inspiration and context.

Together, we’ll examine what transforms a portrait from a simple photograph into a meaningful encounter. Through discussions, demonstrations, field sessions, and thoughtful critiques, participants will learn how to approach and connect with subjects, establish trust, and create photographs that reveal both personality and place. Working primarily with natural light, we’ll consider gesture, gaze, framing, color, landscape, architecture, and the subtle ways environment shapes identity and narrative.

Throughout the week, students will photograph a range of portrait styles—from intimate and environmental portraits to collaborative and conceptual approaches—while developing projects that reflect their own visual voice. Daily image reviews and conversations about the work of influential photographers will encourage experimentation, thoughtful editing, and deeper storytelling.

Set within the inspiring rhythm of LACP’s singular Sunscape programming, this workshop offers the time, space, and creative community to slow down, engage deeply with others, and create portraits that are both personal and resonant. Models will be provided. 

This course is strictly limited to 12 students.

PAYMENT AND REFUND POLICY
A $500 deposit is required to reserve space in the workshop (you may also elect to pay the tuition in full). The balance is due three months prior to the start date. Refund requests arriving four months or greater prior the start date will result in a $50 administrative fee.  Refund requests arriving three to four months prior to the start date will result in loss of deposit or $500. Refund requests arriving two to three months prior to the start date will result in a 50% loss of the workshop fee. No refunds will be provided for requests arriving less than two months prior to the start date. All refund requests must be submitted in writing via email to info@lacphoto.org.

INCLUDED WITH TUITION

• Classroom rental/location in the Joshua Tree area.
• Instructor and course assistant(s).
• Models on select days photographing in the desert.
• Morning coffee/pastries and lunch on all five workshop days, March 18-22.
• Orientation reception/mixer and a group tour of the High Desert on Wednesday, March 17 .
• One group dinner on Friday, March 19.
• One group happy hour on Saturday, March 20.
• One group art walk – Portfolio Night at Sunscape – on Sunday, March 21.
• An Afternoon in the Desert closing reception/slideshow on Monday, March 22.

NOR INCLUDED WITH TUITION

• Airfare (if applicable).
• Lodging accommodations (if applicable).
• All transportation, including to and from workshop location in the High Desert.
• Optional add-on activities in the High Desert.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Rania Matar was born and raised in Lebanon and moved to the U.S. in 1984. As a Lebanese-born American artist and mother, her cross-cultural experience and personal narrative inform her photography.

Matar’s work has been widely exhibited in museums worldwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Carnegie Museum of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, and more. It is part of the permanent collections of several museums, institutions, and private collections. A mid-career retrospective of her work was recently on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and at the American University of Beirut Museum.

Matar received a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, 2017 Mellon Foundation artist-in-residency grant, 2011 Legacy Award at the Griffin Museum of Photography, 2011 and 2007 Massachusetts Cultural Council artist fellowships. In 2008 she was a finalist for the Foster Award at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, with an accompanying solo exhibition.

She has published three books: L’Enfant-Femme, 2016; A Girl and Her Room, 2012; Ordinary Lives, 2009. She is currently working on her fourth book, SHE (2021), published by Radius Books.

View Instructor Profile HERE

Details

• Five Sessions
• Date: Wednesday, March 17, 10 am – 12 pm PST (Orientation), Thursday through Sunday, March 18-21, 9 am – 4 pm PST; Monday, March 22, 9 am – 12 pm PST + An Afternoon in the High Desert, 4 pm – 6 pm
• Enrollment Limit 12 participants
• Skill/Experience Level: Knowledge of your camera is required.
• Tuition: $3,195 + $300 Model fee (Non-Members); $3,095 + $300 Model fee (Members); (Become a Member and save!)
• Location: High Desert in Southern California – Yucca Valley/Joshua Tree/29 Palms
• Sunscape Program: This workshop is part of LACP’s signature Sunscape programming, annual workshop getaways in Southern California.

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