We were lucky to catch up with Dominique Muñoz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dominique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I needed to find a class that would satisfy one of my art requirements. My mom brought up the idea of taking a photography course. She had always loved to photograph moments with her and her friends on her 35mm film camera. She said I could use her camera for the course. At first, I was hesitant and didn’t want to enroll.

After a few weeks of being in the class, we had to develop our film roll. Mixing the chemicals and agitating the film container was sort of fun. We then began to print the images in the darkroom I became enamored with the process. I continued taking photography courses throughout the rest of my time in high school. When applying to college, I wanted to see how far photography could take me. My dad hesitated about my choice, but my mom told me to pursue whatever would bring me joy. After being accepted into VCUart’s photo and film program in Richmond, VA, I knew that this was the path I wanted to pursue professionally.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated with a degree in Photography & Film from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA in 2015. I moved back home (right outside the Washington DC area) to pursue a career as a photographer. Documentary photography was really intriguing to me, and I came across a unique residency with a construction company. They were looking for an in-house photographer to travel around the country to capture the art of building. I was brought on as 1906-Groups inaugural Photographer-in-Residence. Throughout my travels to various construction sites, I used my camera to highlight the collectivism involved in construction. In 2017, I was awarded my first solo exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., showcasing this project.

Since then, I have worked as a data asset manager and as a commercial photographer for various companies, such as Framebridge. I am currently pursuing my MFA in Studio Art at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill as a merit fellow.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing society can do for artists right now is support their growth and careers through commissions and purchases of art from living and contemporary artists. I see many institutions acquire artwork from artists who have long passed away, and I wish they could use those funds to create outlets for living artists.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2022, when the pandemic began to ease up, I became exhausted and overworked from the commercial side of photography. I had been the sole in-house photographer, creating assets for my job. I started feeling like I was losing my drive for photography. I wanted to shift my focus back to my art practice, so I decided to leave my 9-5 job and pursue a living off freelance work while researching graduate programs where I could focus my studies. I came across blogs about fully funded graduate programs for art, and I decided that this is where I wanted to put my energy and effort into it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dominiquemunoz.com
• Instagram: @domo23
• Facebook: n/a
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominique-mu%C3%B1oz-622833149/