IMAGERY BY DESIGN
How Photographer Celeste Hope Became Both a Curator and Exhibitor at Hope on Park
For more than 20 years, photographer Celeste Hope’s works have been featured in editorial layouts, commercial works and gallery exhibitions. Now comes one of her most personal projects to date—a series of stop-you-in-your-tracks photos that adorn Hope on Park, a stunning hospitality space that she helped design with her husband Austin Hope.
ABOVE: Celeste hangs one of her black and white images at Hope on Park in the creative space.
Celeste’s photo series at Hope on Park adorns the walls of the interior lounge space, which presented her with a perfect canvas. These striking black-and-white photos showcase a theme that goes to the heart of Celeste’s artistic mission: female strength.
“I wanted these photos to be elegant, simple and powerful,” Celeste says. “Stylistically, they evoke high-end fashion portraits, which is a perfect fit for this modern tasting room. Our wines are used as props in these photos, but they come across in a way that feels more essential than commercial. It adds a bit of discovery and connection to the guest who is enjoying these same wines as they spend time at Hope on Park.”
ABOVE: Selecting the wallpaper for the creative space at Hope on Park.
ABOVE: Celeste photographing at the Austin Hope & Treana tasting cellar.
True Calling
Celeste is a professional photographer whose works are renowned for showcasing multicultural exploration, live music experiences, female strength and other subjects of personal inspiration. She is an advocate for local arts and her exhibition “Monochrome Memoir” was featured at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles in 2024.
Celeste grew up in a creative family in Austin, Texas. She was a dancer and studied music, and she discovered her passion for photography at the age of 10 after hijacking her mother’s Canon SLR camera. “I would dress up my younger sister in costumes and have her do weird stuff for me and shoot black-and-white film,” she recalls.
After college, Celeste worked in finance at a wealth management firm, only to discover that her true path lay elsewhere. “I lasted less than three years at the company,” she says. “I disliked how chauvinistic and confining it was at that time, and I wanted to go back to being artsy. I’d taken photography courses in college, and I started seeking out internships as a photo assistant.”
As her photography career progressed, Celeste was awarded a prestigious internship with renowned former photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark in New York. She later worked for C3 Presents, a concert promotion company where she developed an affinity for live concert photography; and Food & Wine Magazine, where she met her future husband Austin Hope while on assignment.
ABOVE: Celeste working at Hope on Park.
Made for This
Hope on Park presented Celeste with an unusual proposition—creating photographic works for an interior space she herself was designing from the ground up. “Before the rooms were even built, I knew this was where the photos would go,” she says. “I drew it out and there was going to be this hallway, and photography was the solution for making that space beautiful and eye-catching.”
Hope on Park ultimately showcases Celeste’s talents for art, photography and interior design. Here, she is both a curator and exhibitor, melding the artworks of others with her own personal creations. “I had so much fun seeing this building come to life over a period of nine months, and I’m proud that it has become a place of ultimate creativity for wine and art lovers alike,” she says.
ABOVE: Celeste at Hope on Park in front of her black and white images hung in the creative space.