Mission Statement
Back to the Lab is an arts organization that focuses on the education and promotion of photography as a form of storytelling and expression.
Our goal is to provide the tools and experiences that lend to crafting a deeper vision, forging relationships in the arts community, and understanding the process of creating photographs.
The community we serve is based in New York City, where we provide free hands-on classes to underserved youth, public artist talks, community meet-ups for lens-based artists, public exhibitions, one-on-one mentoring, and community workshops.
Marko Jokic - Program Director
Marko Jokic is a documentary and portrait photographer. He attended Parsons School of Design. He has worked as a photographer for various industries in addition to having experience teaching photography in Mexico.
Salvador Espinoza - Education Director
Salvador Espinoza is a photographer born and raised in New York City. Primarily a documentary photographer and photojournalist he specializes in focusing on social issues by shooting realistic slices of everyday life. His work has won awards from The Queens Council on the Arts as well as The New York City Council and has been published in the New York Times, BBC News, Rolling Stone and Mass Appeal.
Huguette Ampudia - Creative Director
Huguette Ampudia holds a ten-year commercial career as a portrait and architecture photographer, working with several of the most important firms in Mexico. Huguette received a BA in Communications from ITESM in Mexico City and an MA in Communication from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, in Spain. She also attended the General Studies Program at the International Center of Photography. In her personal work she experiments with abstractions that separate from straight forward photography.
Mark Beckenbach - Treasurer
Mark Beckenbach moved to New York City in 2005 where he studied photography at Laguardia Community College. He helped found Camera of the Month club in 2014 and has been an active member of the New York City Street Photography Collective since its inception. He has led photowalks, curated exhibitions and zines, and created a constructive framework for monthly critiques.
Anita Bulan - Development Director
Anita Bulan has a background in journalism and marketing, but is most passionate as a champion of the underserved in her adopted Brooklyn community. She serves as the co-chair of her Community Board’s immigration committee and, as founder of Direct Impact Coalition, offered capacity building opportunities to families affected by the 2017 earthquake in Mexico, and helped establish ongoing photography workshops for indigenous youth in the Sierra Mixe in Oaxaca.
Jordan Owen - Event Director
Jordan Owen is a self-taught photographer focused on editorial and fashion photography in Brooklyn. He is involved in photography community groups and exhibiting both street and studio portrait work, with several magazine publications. Jordan brings his background of marketing consulting and agency model test shoots to add industry perspective to the programs provided.