Sandra Steinbrecher

Sandra Steinbrecher is a Chicago documentary photographer working on long- term assignments about education, the arts, and community development. Her work supports and promotes those who are invested in transforming their communities and preserving history. Over the last few years, she has photographed the Salt Shed, chronicling the transformation of the former Morton Salt complex along the Chicago River. This work is now a book, and The Salt Shed is due out in September 2024, by Trope Publishing Company.

Recently, she photographed the changing seasons at the historic Garden of the Phoenix in Chicago’s Jackson Park, recorded the efforts to repurpose the former Anthony Overton School in the Bronzeville community, and collaborated with numerous artists, documenting their public art pieces and installations. She documented life at several Chicago Public Schools, independently, and for the arts organization, CPS Lives.

Sandra’s work was featured in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s The Outwin 2019, American Portraiture Today, a highly competitive national exhibition. Her photographs have been on view at several galleries, including the Chicago Cultural Center and were featured in the CNN docuseries, Chicagoland. Her images have been seen in several publications including on Patagonia’s blog The Cleanest Line, in The New York Times, New City, Smithsonian Magazine and The Economist.

Author photo by Beth Rooney
IG: @sandysteinbrecherphotography