McDougall Center welcomes new Women Photojournalists of Washington exhibit
Luca Giordano, right, a junior from St Louis who’s studying documentary journalism and history, meets with Washington, D.C., photojournalist Allison Robbert for a portfolio review on Sept. 11, 2025, in the McDougall Center gallery. Photo: Nate Brown
By Emily Early
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Sept. 17, 2025) — The Missouri School of Journalism’s Angus and Betty McDougall Center unveiled a new exhibit on September 10, showcasing the Women Photojournalists of Washington’s (WPOW) 2025 Photography Exhibition. The exhibit is located in the McDougall Center’s gallery on the bottom floor of Lee Hills Hall.
WPOW is a nonprofit organization concentrated in Washington, D.C., that highlights the role of women in photojournalism. The new exhibit features the work of 23 women, including WPOW member Allison Robbert. She opened the collection last week, met with many School of Journalism students and visited classes to share insights about the organization.
“I think this is a helpful window into professional journalism, as well as what D.C. journalism looks like,” Robbert said. “Every single name on this wall belongs to a photographer that has an excellent portfolio of work. All of these women are worth looking at for Mizzou students in terms of inspiration.”
Student and professional photographs are on display, as well as more detail into Robbert’s career. Her work concentrates on D.C.’s political climate, though the exhibit features a variety of topics within the photographs, including perspectives from around the globe.
“I think this is a helpful window into professional journalism, as well as what D.C. journalism looks like. Every single name on this wall belongs to a photographer that has an excellent portfolio of work. All of these women are worth looking at for Mizzou students in terms of inspiration.”
Allison Robbert
“We have all different kinds of photographers here,” Robbert said. “It’s only grouped by the fact that they’re all female-identifying. It’s nice to see everyone’s perspectives across [the exhibit]. We also have two different levels, student and professional, so there’s plenty to see here and plenty to take in.”
Robbert’s message and the exhibit’s themes align closely with the mission of the McDougall Center, which was established in 2009 with the support of Angus McDougall and Betty McDougall. Angus McDougall was the former head of the Missouri School of Journalism Photo Department and led a career in photography assisted by his wife, Betty McDougall. Its purpose is to preserve and display photographs for research and educational use.
Current McDougall Center Co-Director, Associate Professor and Chair of Journalism Studies Keith Greenwood appreciates the unique viewpoints the exhibit brings.
“It’s an opportunity for people to see a different aspect of photojournalism that they might not see through their regular media outlets,” Greenwood said. “[The WPOW exhibit is] not pigeonholed to daily, breaking news coverage. [It shows] a mind-broadening perspective, and it’s all the work of women photojournalists, which is an underrepresented group within photojournalism but one that is growing. Being able to put some emphasis on that is a bonus.”
The exhibition replaced the 13th annual Parting Shots exhibit, which highlighted student work of those graduating in the preceding year. The Parting Shots exhibit went up in the spring semester and featured undergraduate and graduate student photography, as well as the work of documentary film students in the School of Journalism’s Murray Center for Documentary Journalism. Highlighting student work is one of Greenwood’s favorite aspects of the McDougall Center.
“[I enjoy] being able to bring different elements of photojournalism to the public,” Greenwood said. “Over the course of year, we get to bookend by [having] the people that are entering the field and the people that have been recognized for their careers in the field. When we have an exhibit up and prospective students and parents see the work — and that we value it enough to showcase it — it sends a message about how we value our students.”
For students, faculty, staff and members of the public looking to find their own value in the current exhibit, Greenwood the WPOW exhibit will remain until at least early October. The gallery is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. when classes are in session.
Updated: September 17, 2025