Sunscape – Words & Frames: Writing the High Desert with Montserrat Andrée Carty (In-Person Learning)

About

In-Person Learning

The High Desert invites close observation. Its shifting light, quiet expanses, weathered structures, and unexpected encounters offer fertile ground for both photographers and writers. In this immersive Sunscape workshop, writer and photographer Montserrat Andrée Carty guides participants through a creative practice where photographs and language exist in conversation—each deepening, complicating, and expanding the other.

Through daily photographic explorations, generative writing prompts, short lectures, and collaborative discussions, participants will investigate how words can move beyond description to reveal memory, emotion, history, and imagination. We’ll experiment with approaches including ekphrasis, documentary and lyric poetry, archival materials, erasure, personal narrative, and hybrid forms, discovering how writing can transform the way we see—and how photographs can reshape the stories we tell.

Each day begins with writing inspired by the desert landscape and the images we create together. Individual feedback sessions and group critiques provide opportunities to refine both photographs and text while developing an integrated body of work that reflects each participant’s unique perspective.

Designed for photographers who write, writers who photograph, and anyone curious about the creative possibilities between the two, this workshop encourages pushing boundaries, experimentation and creative risk-taking. Participants will leave with new photographs, new writing, and a deeper understanding of how visual and written narratives can enrich one another—opening new possibilities for personal projects and long-term creative practice.

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).
• 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

Montserrat Andrée Carty is a Spanish-American writer, photographer, and the interviews editor for Hunger Mountain. She also hosts the podcast Musings of the Artist. Her writing and / or photographs have been published in journals including Longreads, Bellingham Review, The Sun and Poetry Northwest. She holds a MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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 Non-Members; $3,095 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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