Sustainable Darkroom: Sustainable Thinking, Practice

Sustainable Darkroom: Sustainable Thinking, Practice and Waste Management 

This online course consists of three classes exploring sustainability within photography. Taught by the leaders of Sustainable Darkroom, this course is focused on creating sustainable photographic habits through thought and practice. Classes include Sustainable Thinking with Edd Carr, Miniature Pinhole and Tea Developers with Alice Cazenave, and Waste Management in Photographic Processes with Hannah Fletcher. See below for more information.

Sustainable Thinking with Edd Carr: 

Is an ecological future for photography possible? The threat of ecological collapse becomes a near certainty - and in times of crisis, the need for reform is urgent. But when it comes to the arts, most of the discussion falls on content - with our use of materials swept under the rug.

Photography, as a product of mass consumption, is embroiled in a legacy of toxic materials. Whether it is silver waste in analogue, or mounds of digital microchips - photography is ripe for ecological transformation. In this session, co-director Edd Carr will talk about the work of The Sustainable Darkroom, in shaping a new ecological future for photography.

Through a series of practical exercises and discussions, Edd will reinforce the idea that Sustainable Darkroom practice is not just about material fixes - but a wholesale transformation of the way we understand and relate to the practice of photography. 

By the end of this session, students should have a new understanding of photographic materials, and the various human/nonhuman forces at play in realizing images - with some practical solutions to potential issues in their own work. 

Miniature Pinhole and Tea Developers with Alice Cazenave: 

In this online workshop, students will learn to use recycled materials to make a miniature pinhole camera, use it to produce positive photographs, and develop them in a low toxicity developer made from left-over tea leaves. 

By the end of the workshop, students will produce up to six miniature positive photographs of local scenes, developed in a homemade low-toxicity developer. The developer made during the session can also be used for film processing, traditional darkroom printing, or camera-less processes. The chemistry behind plant based developers will also be discussed.

Working with both waste and common household materials, this workshop exemplifies artistic processes that are accessible, low toxicity and more sustainable. There is no prior experience necessary to participate. 

Waste Management in Photographic Processes with Hannah Fletcher:

Analog photographic processes produce waste, which can be harmful and toxic if not handled correctly. While at-home photographers have often turned a blind eye to pouring spent chemistries down the sink, growing evidence and awareness of the ecological impact is making this no longer feasible. Even plant-based developers still need to be degraded before they can be safely returned to the earth.

Through a combination of lecture, group discussions, and writing activities, this workshop looks at how to safely and responsibly manage waste in your own studio or practice in order to work with minimal impact on your environment.  Students will also look at waste activation; finding new uses for waste materials within our own practice. 

By the end of the workshop, students will have the skills to dispose of their own photographic waste at home, in a safe, innovative, and holistic manner.

The Sustainable Darkroom is an artist-led organization dedicated to the research, development, and supporting of low-toxic and regenerative alternatives to traditional photographic processes. Led by Hannah Fletcher, Edd Carr, and Alice Cazenave, we aim to help equip cultural practitioners with new skills and knowledge to develop environmentally friendly photographic darkroom practices. 

The Sustainable Darkroom is not defined by a location on the map, we have no walls, sinks or red lights. But, we are an ethos, a way of thinking and of understanding. We are an uprising; a radical reformation of photography entirely.

Taking form in publications, residencies, workshops, talks, symposiums, training sessions, gardens and more. We intend to help build a community to empower each other, and challenge some of the environmental impacts of darkroom practices.

Together with Penumbra Foundation, we are bringing some of our core concepts and teachings to the USA for the first time.