January 14-17, 2027 | $2500Limited to 12 Participants
Photographing The Unseen In Rooms
New Orleans, Louisiana
What to ExpectA photograph has the immense power to reveal a memory, the subconscious, and the unseen interior worlds that shape how we experience one another. Photographing the Unseen is a WOA retreat led by artists Brittany Markert and Mark de Paola to begin 2027 from a place of reflection and interiority. Together, they invite participants to explore photography as a means of expressing the psychological space, energy, and unspoken narratives we carry within.
❋ Experience and Photograph In RoomsThe retreat is anchored entirely within In Rooms, Brittany's world and studio at the heart of New Orleans. Working within this singular environment throughout the retreat, participants will explore the weight of how setting, symbolism, and atmosphere can carry our stories.
❋ Building Trust and CollaborationMark and Brittany bring two distinct visions shaped by more than twenty years of artistic friendship built on mutual respect, admiration, and an immense amount of trust. Participants will work in small groups with each artist throughout the retreat, experiencing their individual approaches first hand, while also witnessing and joining a creative dialogue built over two decades of collaboration. Participants will also have the incredibly unique opportunity to photograph Brittany herself within In Rooms, alongside two additional professional subjects and artistic collaborators.
❋ What's IncludedAll artist instruction, production, staff, locations and shoot teams, and transfers between activities.
**Please note that all other trip expenses such as flights, accommodations, meals outside of scheduled sessions, and airport transfers for those who are not local to New Orleans must be covered individually by each participant and are not included in the retreat tuition.
❋ Topics CoveredPhotography as a language for memory and the subconscious.
Using interior space and symbolism to suggest what cannot be shown directly with New Orleans as inspiration: place, history, and photographic legacy.
Photographing collaborators as creative partners, building trust in front of the lens.
Light, environment, and atmosphere as psychological tools.
Witnessing a twenty-year creative partnership built on trust and mutual respect.
Slowing down: intuition over documentation.
Moving from a single image toward a cohesive body of work.
Developing a personal visual language for the unseen.
A final and detailed itinerary will be emailed to all participants about one week prior to the start of the experience.
Schedule Outline
ThursdayArrival and welcome. Evening instructor and participant introductions and an opening conversation with Mark and Brittany.
Friday
SaturdayMorning — Lecture with Mark de Paola: his story and artistic history. Afternoon — Small groups continue, rotating so every participant works with both Mark and Brittany.
Morning — Lecture with Brittany Markert: her personal story, and the photographic history and significance of New Orleans. Afternoon — Live demonstration: Mark photographs Brittany. Groups then split, with Mark working with one half of participants and Brittany working with the other.
SundayMorning — Narrowing down final image selections, with individual reviews held separately with Brittany and with Mark. Afternoon — Closing presentation and conversation. Departure by end of day.
Meet The Artists
Mark de Paola
Mark de Paola is a New York City-based fine art and fashion photographer and director with many years of experience shooting campaign and fine art commissions for the likes of Vogue Spain, Vogue Mexico, Gucci, Oscar de la Renta, Prabal Gurung, Aveda, Estee Lauder, Brioni, David Koma, Roksanda, and Saint Laurent. De Paola has directed several hundred television spots in the fashion/beauty sector including those for Giorgio RED Perfume (Bergdorf Goodman windows and MoMA NY), Donna Karan, Ducati, Leica Camera, Sony, Neutrogena, and Ford Motorsports.
De Paola's fine art work is included in public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Getty in Los Angeles, the San Diego Center of Photographic Arts, and the TOP Museum in Tokyo. His photography monographs Recent Work I (2018), Recent Work II (2019), and Five Years and Sixty Seconds (2020) can be found with Leica Camera retailers in major cities worldwide. De Paola's solo exhibitions have traveled around the world including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dali (China), Tokyo, Milan (Triennale Museum), and at home in New York City.
De Paola’s forthcoming feature film A Stab At Heaven stars Ema McKie in a powerful nonfiction narrative, and is currently in development on feature The Final Film and in pre production for feature and limited series betterthandead.
His newest publication A Stab At Heaven in collaboration with McKie is currently being released. De Paola's pictorialist work as a still and motion artist has been driven by his studies of the neurobiology and cognitive psychology of human vision.
https://www.depaolapictures.com/
Instagram: @depaolapictures @markdepaolastudio
Brittany Markert
Brittany Markert (b. 1987, California) is a New Orleans-based photographer, darkroom printer, bookmaker, filmmaker, and educator. Markert originally studied mathematics before pursuing formal study in black-and-white printing at the International Center of Photography in New York. Her practice is situated within a lineage of psychological and surreal visual artists, including Francesca Woodman, Duane Michals, Claude Cahun, Maya Deren, and the symbolist language of spirit photography, early cinema, and the writings of Carl Jung. Her ongoing project, In Rooms, is a years-long, complex photographic universe that unfolds like an abstract diary. It began in 2011 with a 35mm and Polaroid cameras. It has evolved over more than a decade into a sustained body of work exploring the unconscious, feminine transformation, ritual, sexuality, grief, and psychological integration through staged interior worlds. In 2014, after acquiring a Hasselblad, Markert’s practice deepened into a more rigorous and committed practice, eventually published in book form. Through her research of surrealism, occult symbolism, Jungian psychology, horror, cinema, and the emotional architecture of domestic spaces, In Rooms became a psychic chamber, a place where the self could fragment, perform, dissolve, and return transformed. Within these spaces, figures appear and reappear as archetypal witnesses moving between worlds — the oracle, the shadow, the maiden, the trickster, the self, and others.
Through the lens of the divine feminine, Markert gives voice to the forgotten and silenced women across generations of storytelling. Although the work is deeply personal, In Rooms becomes an invitation for others to look within — a space for inquiry, reflection, and the pursuit of deeper meaning. All work is printed in the darkroom by the artist herself, all effects are achieved in camera or in the darkroom. Markert’s work has been exhibited in the United States, France, Denmark, and Belgium, including Brandts Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The Untitled Space in New York, and La Luz de Jesus in Los Angeles. Her silver gelatin prints are held in private collections in more than twenty countries. In 2017, she expanded In Rooms into 16mm filmmaking, furthering the project’s dialogue with mental health, inner life, surrealism, and the writings of Carl Jung. In the spirit of a personal diary, In Rooms is published in volumes of artist books. In Rooms Volume 1 was released in May 2016, Volume 2 in September 2018, and Volume 3 in May 2025. Across photography, film, writing, and bookmaking, the project remains a study of integration and psychological evolution: what happens when a woman turns inward, enters the room, and chooses to leave changed?
In 2026, Markert is in the early stages of building In Rooms Foundation, an artist-led infrastructure of care, support, education, and affordable access for artists, women, image-makers, and seekers of truth. She lives and works in the French Quarter of New Orleans, surrounded by books, mannequins and her two cat familiars.
Instagram: @_inrooms
BRITTANY MARKERT
BRITTANY MARKERT
MARK DE PAOLA
MARK DE PAOLA
Experience In Rooms.
Experience the unseen within the heart of In Rooms.
In Rooms Foundation
Throughout this retreat, participants will work closely with the artists at the heart of Brittany’s artistic practice, In Rooms Foundation. Based in New Orleans, In Rooms Foundation serves artists, writers, imagemakers, and creative seekers through education, mentorship, public programming, accessible resources, and artist-centered care. In Rooms Foundation seeks to make artistic development more accessible while fostering creative integrity, lifelong practice, and deeper engagement with the unseen dimensions of creative life.
Emerging from Brittany Markert’s long-term interdisciplinary project In Rooms, the foundation builds ecosystems that preserve artists and create the conditions necessary for meaningful creative work to survive, deepen, and be shared. Rooted in photography, darkroom practice, writing, psychology, symbolism, and the transformative power of intimate spaces, In Rooms Foundation encourages slowness, vulnerability, craft, curiosity, and sustained artistic inquiry.
Small Groups For Shooting - The maximum 12 participants will split into two groups of six to work with each artist, rotating so that every participant spends time with both Mark and Brittany.
Weather - January in New Orleans is mild and can be humid or cool, with a chance of rain. Dress in layers.
Your Gear Recommendation - Bring the amount of gear you can comfortably manage for full days of shooting and critique at In Rooms. We recommend two bodies and two lenses so you can focus on the experience rather than changing equipment mid-session.
Base Location - The base location for the retreat is In Rooms, Brittany Markert's studio in the heart of New Orleans.
Image Usage - Images captured by attendees during this retreat may be used for personal use (website, social media, etc).
How It Works-
Fill out the application form below and receive notification from Wide Open Art of application status within 7 days of submission.
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Should your application be accepted, receive your confirmation email and registration invoice. Registration is confirmed upon receipt of tuition.
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About 10-14 days before the start of the retreat, receive a welcome letter with itinerary and prep material details
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Experience Photographing the Unseen for three and a half immersive days in New Orleans.
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Receive a follow-up email on how to stay in touch with Mark, Brittany, and the Wide Open Art community, along with continued resources from the weekend together.
Apply Now
See differently.
The Fine Print
CANCELLATION POLICY
Wide Open Art experiences are intentionally limited in size to ensure meaningful creative exchange. Because each registration reserves a place within a small cohort and allows us to confirm artists, venues, and production commitments, participants are asked to review the following cancellation policy before registering.
Full tuition is due at the time of registration.
Participant Cancellations
More than 60 days before the experience: Full refund.
30–60 days before the experience: 50% refund.
Less than 30 days before the experience: No refund.
If a participant cancels and Wide Open Art is able to fill the space from the waitlist, Wide Open Art may, at its sole discretion, issue a credit toward a future Wide Open Art experience. Credits are valid only for experiences produced solely by Wide Open Art and may not be applied to partnership experiences.
Experience Cancellation
Should Wide Open Art cancel an experience due to force majeure, artist illness, insufficient enrollment, or other unforeseen circumstances beyond our reasonable control, participants will receive a full refund of all fees paid to Wide Open Art. Wide Open Art is not responsible for airfare, accommodations, travel insurance, or any other expenses incurred outside of the experience fee. Participants are strongly encouraged to purchase comprehensive travel insurance.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By registering for a Wide Open Art experience, participants acknowledge that they have read and agree to these Terms & Conditions.
Registration & Payment
Registration is confirmed upon receipt of full payment unless otherwise stated. Enrollment is limited and spaces are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Participant Responsibility
Participants are responsible for ensuring they are physically able to participate in the experience and for arriving with the appropriate equipment, documentation, and travel arrangements.
Participants are expected to conduct themselves with professionalism, respect, and consideration for fellow participants, artists, hosts, staff, and local communities. Wide Open Art reserves the right to remove any participant whose conduct is disruptive, unsafe, or inappropriate. No refund will be issued in such cases.
Assumption of Risk
Participation may involve travel, walking, uneven terrain, changing weather conditions, and other activities inherent to cultural and photographic experiences. Participants voluntarily assume all risks associated with their participation.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Wide Open Art, its artists, employees, contractors, partners, hosts, and venues shall not be liable for any injury, illness, accident, theft, loss, damage to personal property, travel delays, cancellations, or other expenses arising from participation in an experience.
Travel
Participants are responsible for arranging and paying for all transportation, accommodations (unless expressly included), passports, visas, travel documentation, and travel insurance.
Experience Changes
Wide Open Art reserves the right to make reasonable changes to artists, schedules, locations, accommodations, or experience content when necessary to ensure the successful delivery of an experience.
Force Majeure
Wide Open Art shall not be responsible for delays, cancellations, or modifications resulting from events beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, severe weather, governmental restrictions, strikes, pandemics, war, civil unrest, transportation disruptions, venue closures, or artist illness.
Governing Law
These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California.