Temple University

Rachael Reynolds (she/her) specializes in the history of photography and other works on paper. Her work focuses on the performativity of photographic processes from capture to darkroom, particularly those of photographers whose work centers on gender, nature, and mysticism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.    

Reynolds has wide-ranging experience in museums, galleries, and arts education, having held roles in curatorial, collections management, exhibition management, research, and secondary education. Most recently, Reynolds worked in the photography curatorial department at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Emily Davis Gallery at The University of Akron while initiating independent curatorial and consulting projects. Reynolds earned a Master of Art in Arts Administration at The University of Akron, where her thesis examined the representation of women in scholarship and museum spaces.  

Before pursuing graduate studies, Reynolds’ gravitation to art history was catalyzed by her artistic practice and beginning her higher education journey in the sciences. Viewing photography as a creative practice and history of both art and science, Reynolds has pursued the medium artistically and academically—fostering a special interest in alternative processes and materiality.  

MA, Arts Administration, The University of Akron 

Primary Advisor: Erin Pauwels, PhD