We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karen below.

Karen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Defeat for Women
The Seeds for Change

June 24th, 2022 marked a seismic shift in the American landscape — not just politically, but emotionally, spiritually, and culturally. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it did more than revoke a constitutional right; it ignited a collective cry that reverberated through the hearts and bodies of millions of women across this nation. In New York City, 17,000 voices surged together in a spontaneous, urgent demonstration — a gathering that became both protest and prayer, resistance and remembrance.

As an artist and as a woman, I felt an unshakable call to bear witness. But more than documenting, I joined — with my camera as my voice, each image a defiant act of presence and protest. What unfolded was not just a moment in time, but a living, breathing force of solidarity — an emotional landscape that pulsed with grief, anger, love, and resolve.
This installation is more than a vessel for that energy — it is a time stamp in history, a permanent bearing of witness to the moment our rights were shaken and the scars that remain. It does not merely capture faces or crowds, but the emotional rupture that tore through our collective being. It holds the weight of disbelief, the breathlessness of grief, and the strength that rose from the ashes of despair. Each image is a marker of loss — and of resilience. Each frame is a scar made visible, demanding to be remembered, honored, and transformed into action.

The anniversary of this protest is not simply a remembrance — it is a reminder of our ongoing responsibility. The fire that fueled the demonstration, the chants that echoed through the city streets, the unrelenting presence of bodies in motion — these are the seeds of change. What we lived that day was not defeat, but ignition. That fire, carried in the hearts of every demonstrator, continues to burn as a catalyst for transformation. Rights, once thought permanent, proved fragile. But from that fracture, we found the unbreakable: our unity, our voices, our refusal to be erased.
This body of work seeks not just to show history, but to stir it. To compel memory into action. To remind every viewer that protest is power, and that from our pain can grow purpose. Defeat is not the end — it is the charge. It is the connective fiber that links us, wounds us, and ultimately galvanizes us to rise again, louder and more determined.
Art, like protest, is resistance.
This is ours.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

BIO for Defeat for women

Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico is progressively changing the way people perceive the world around them through the visual art of photography. As the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of The Pictorial List, a nonprofit organization, Karen supports an inclusive international community of visual storytellers that exposes the world of photography, redefining it in innovative and impactful ways.

The Pictorial List Nonprofit Organization Mission Statement

Our mission is to support, elevate, and celebrate diverse voices through the visual arts, with a particular focus on photography as a powerful medium for storytelling. We aim to foster inclusive environments that inspire, educate, and connect visual storytellers from all backgrounds—regardless of gender, culture, race, life status, neurodiversity, or mobility—on local, national, and international platforms. Through exhibitions, research, outreach programs, workshops, and residencies, we advance the art and science of photography and multimedia. We are committed to empowering individuals, including those with diverse abilities and from underserved communities, to harness the transformative power of visual arts in advocating for social change and promoting charitable causes. By nurturing creativity in a supportive environment, we ensure that all voices are heard and visual narratives have the space to flourish.

Karen has held a camera in her hand since the early 1980s, cultivating a lifelong commitment to visual storytelling. She holds a BA from Pratt Institute, where she laid the foundation for her deeply intuitive and socially engaged approach to the photographic arts. She has been driven since these early days to define the world around her in new innovative ways.

Driven by the belief that photography can shape consciousness and shift culture, Karen collaborates with photographers across the globe, offering her expertise and unwavering support for projects rooted in purpose and authenticity. She is deeply invested in the evolution of her field, actively listening and responding to its changing landscape. Through mentorship and international partnerships, she fosters a creative ecosystem where image-making becomes a powerful tool for empowerment, advocacy, and transformation.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My creative journey is driven by a deep belief in the power of photography to bear witness, to connect, and to ignite change. I use the camera not just as a tool for image-making, but as an extension of observation — a way to translate the seen and often overlooked into visual narratives that spark curiosity and reflection. Photography has been part of my life since the early 1980s, shaping the way I engage with the world and giving voice to the nuances of everyday experience. My mission as an artist is to encourage people to look more closely — to notice, to feel, and to think differently.

Through my role as Co-Founder and Editorial Director of The Pictorial List, my mission expands beyond personal practice. I am dedicated to fostering a global, inclusive platform that supports photographers of all identities, abilities, and experiences. This work is rooted in creating access and opportunity — building a space where diverse visual storytellers can be seen, valued, and celebrated. By curating, mentoring, and collaborating, I help to cultivate a creative community that thrives on authenticity and mutual respect.

Ultimately, the mission driving my creative journey is about visual connection and the transformative potential of artistic dialogue. Whether through my own lens or by elevating the work of others, I am committed to using photography as a medium that fosters empathy, builds community, and expands the ways we see and understand one another.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the most defining chapters of my life — and certainly one that shaped my resilience and perspective — was the experience of homeschooling my four children all the way through to their graduations and successful entries into university. It was a full-time, all-consuming commitment that demanded not only discipline, patience, and adaptability, but also a deep trust in my own instincts and the ability to nurture growth in unique, individualized ways. There were no pre-written paths — I had to build the road as we walked it together.

In those years, I learned how to listen deeply, to encourage curiosity, and to value the learning process as much as the outcome. I developed a heightened awareness of how people learn, how they express themselves, and what it takes to create an environment where they feel empowered to grow. That experience profoundly informs the way I approach both my art and my work with other photographers today. Just like homeschooling, visual storytelling requires empathy, observation, and space — space to explore, to evolve, and to take creative risks.

That journey taught me that resilience isn’t always loud or dramatic — sometimes it’s quiet, consistent, and rooted in love and intention. It showed me that meaningful art grows out of lived experience and the ability to see value in the everyday. And it gave me the perspective to not only trust my own creative voice, but to help others recognize and nurture theirs. Whether I’m behind the camera or mentoring through The Pictorial List, I carry with me the belief that with support, vision, and persistence, we all have the power to create something lasting and transformative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://karenghostlaw.com/ https://www.thepictorial-list.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karen.ghostlaw/ https://www.instagram.com/thepictorial.list/

Image Credits

All images are my personal intellectual property. ©karenghostlaw