Longhaus aims to expose photography

In the Viking Age, a longhouse was a space used for gathering, feasting, learning and being together.

Now, two local photographers are working to create their own longhouse in Sarasota.

When the Longboat Key Center for the Arts closed in May, Sorcha Augustine and Jeffrey Gunthart were unsure of what to do. Augustine had been an administrator there, and Gunthart was a photography instructor and facilitator of documentaries and matinees.

“Kind of by the time the art center had closed, he had created a nice little following, and literally, as the art center was crumbling around me, we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Do you want to keep this going?’ That’s kind of how this happened,” Augustine says.

Looking at what was offered photography-wise in Sarasota, they found that there was no school that focuses solely on  photography.

Gunthart has more than 15 years of experience working in Los Angeles and New York. Augustine is a dance photographer who graduated in 2009 from Ringling College of Art and Design. Since 2016, she has been a photographer for Sarasota Contemporary Dance. 

So, the two banded together and created Longhaus, a photography school with a hands-on learning approach.

“And we were like, ‘That’s exactly it,’” Augustine says. “That’s what we want. We want to create a sanctuary place where people can learn and explore their craft but also have an edge of connecting with each other.”

At first a method of filling the void left behind by the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Longhaus’ mission has expanded to  seeking to improve photography in Sarasota, Augustine says.

“When it comes down to it, photography isn’t necessarily recognized as a super fine art in Sarasota, in my opinion,” Gunthart says. “If you go to the galleries, you’d be hard-pressed to find something that’s contemporary photography, and if you do see a photo, it’s probably a sunset with a pelican, and that’s not necessarily what we want.”

To make this improvement, Gunthart will be teaching classes and workshops that range from lightroom introduction to advanced skin retouching, and Augustine will conduct open figure drawing classes with photography lighting in mind. But, like most novice business, Augustine and Gunthart have a long wish list for Longhaus.

“The more and more we open one door, it’s like the potential to open 10 other doors,” Augustine says. “I think when we take the two of our backgrounds and put them together, there’s a multitude of things that it’s just one thing after another. We’re more and more inspired.”

One of those doors is a food workshop. Gunthart’s vision for such an event includes local chef Robert Gaglio. Gaglio will cook while students watch and sample the food, then style and set up a photo shoot with Gunthart.

“It’s like a party and a class at the same time, and I think that’s the big vision of what Longhaus is,” Gunthart says. “We’re going to learn how to do some really high-end, beautiful, classy, photography, but we’re going to really enjoy each other while we’re doing it.”

And through those workshops, Gunthart says his mission of expanding beyond photography will be accomplished.

He wants to avoid typical sterile classes where people sit and listen to instructors, but he knows they’re going to have to have fundamental presentations.

It’s finding that balance between work and play that they want to achieve.

While setting a table for six at the Longhaus studio, Augustine recalls what a student said at one of their first lectures: that Augustine and Gunthart had created an intimate setting in Longhaus.

That resonated with Augustine as something that can foster their hands-on approach.

“Going along with that idea of sanctuary and connection ... people have said,  ‘You’ve created a really intimate setting,’ so there’s something natural there for us,” she says.