May 4, 2021

Robin Sachs

Robin Sachs was born in Dallas into a family with deep Texas roots. Her father was also born in Dallas, and her mother was born in Pittsburgh but grew up mostly in Wichita Falls, Texas, making the family Texans for generations. Robin grew up in North Dallas on a cul-de-sac that, despite being in the heart of the area, was surrounded by fields, horse pastures, and a small lake. She spent much of her childhood outdoors, hiking and riding horses, and loved reading, writing, and anything creative. Her family were long-term members of Temple Emanu-El, a connection shared by her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Robin discovered her passion for photography in the days of film, manual cameras, and darkrooms. Right out of college she taught newspaper and journalism at North Dallas High School, buying her first camera, a Nikon, to teach students who could not afford one. At night she worked at a place in Snyder Plaza called the photographic center, where she met other photographers, including her mentor Chris Regas, with whom she shared a studio in Deep Ellum at 500 Exposition for more than twenty years. Her style evolved from black and white fine art and mixed media experiments to commissioned portraits and large commercial ad campaigns, and she has since circled back to photography as an art form.

Robin loves working in series, doing deep dives into subjects that inspire her. She co-authored a book called I Am a Teacher, published by Simon and Schuster, for which she traveled to every state photographing and interviewing teachers. Other projects include work for a women's hospital and a personal series documenting her childhood home at 5850 Dexter Drive on the last day her mother lived there. Her current projects, Outer Layers and Namesake, explore organic surfaces and people who share the same first name. She has traveled and photographed around the world, and remains active in the community as a past president of Jewish Family Service, a role she serves with pride.

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