The Sustainable Darkroom: Photographic Garden

Photographic Garden open call

Test. GROW. Change


This is a paid research and development opportunity with The Sustainable Darkroom. 

DEADLINE: 8th August


We are looking for a small group to work with us on the creation of a photographic garden. The selected individuals will use the completed garden as a research space for developing new relationships between the garden and analogue photography. This could include, but is not limited to; making plant-based photographic developers, establish a water recycling and filtration system, or researching biodegradable, plant-based alternatives to celluloid and gelatin. We are also interested in proposals that make a conceptual link between the content and plant material used.


The individuals will have the support of relevant scientists, horticulturists and artists across the year to help and advise with aspects of the research.  


This is a year-long project; running from September 2021 - September 2022. 


At the end of each research initiative, there is an option for exhibiting at a local gallery space.


You will be expected to utilise the garden for a minimum of 12 days throughout 1 year, and contribute your research findings to The Sustainable Darkroom initiative. 


Supported by East Street Arts, funded by Genesis Foundation. 

APPLY:

Email the following to sustainabledarkroom@gmail.com with the headline: Submission to photographic garden 

  • Your name

  • Where are you based

  • Any website or social media links

  • A short CV

  • A research proposal (maximum 500 words)



Terms and conditions:

  • If we feel that access to the Darkroom is being abused, then we have the right to limit your usage from therein. 

  • Your artist's fee will be paid half in October and half at the end of the project. 

  • Up to £100 worth of travel expenses can be paid over the course of the year, upon submission of receipts. 


photo grden open call copy.jpg

What are we looking for?

  • We are looking for a small group to work with us on the creation of a photographic garden. The selected individuals will use the completed garden as a research space for developing new relationships between the garden and analogue photography. This could include, but is not limited to; making plant-based photographic developers, establish a water recycling and filtration system, or researching biodegradable, plant-based alternatives to celluloid and gelatin. We are also interested in proposals that make a conceptual link between the content and plant material used.

  • You will be expected to utilise the garden for a minimum of 12 days throughout 1 year, and contribute your research findings to The Sustainable Darkroom initiative. 



How will you be supported?

  • The individuals will have the support of relevant scientists, horticulturists and artists across the year to help and advise with aspects of the research.  

  • You will have access to the facilities of Northern Sustainable Darkroom, located in East Street Arts. Access to the darkroom must be agreed prior to using it and the handbook read and complied with. 

  • You will have 24/7 access to the garden


What will the garden have in it?

  • A number of plants have been selected according to their caffeic acid and/or vitamin C content, for making plant based developers. This has come from The Sustainable Darkrooms pre-existing knowledge and research. The remainder of the plants will be selected according to the needs and requirements of the research proposals selected via the open call.

  • We welcome new additions to the garden throughout the course of the year, however we do have a limited budget so can not promise to be able to support further purchases for the garden over the course of the year. We will try to seek sponsorship and further donations where appropriate to support any further developments to the garden. 


What’s the timeline of the project?

  • This is a year-long project; running from September 2021 - September 2022. 

  • We will be doing the majority of building and planting of the garden from the 17th - 20th August and we aim to have the garden ready to begin research by the 1st September. We recognise that the plants will need time to settle and not all proposals will be appropriate to start straight away. 

  • The time frame with which you spend in the garden and doing the research is entirely up to you, but please consider the life cycle of the plants over the course of the year and how the garden could function at all times of the year. 

  • We ask that a presentation of research is to be given in September 2022. This will potentially be in the form of a talk or symposium.

  • If you wish to continue research on the garden beyond September 2022, this is possible, as the Photographic garden will be a permanent fixture at East Street arts. 

  • At the end of each research initiative in the Autumn of 2022, there is an option for exhibiting at a local window gallery space.

The Sustainable Darkroom: Recycle / Remove / Repurpose / Rework

London Alternative Photography Collective (LAPC) Sustainable Darkroom is an artist run research, development, training and mutual learning programme, to equip cultural practitioners with new skills and knowledge to develop an environmentally friendly and sustainable photographic darkroom practice.

We have been selected by Yinka Shonibare’s Guest Projects to curate and deliver a month long Sustainable Darkroom public programme. During this time, we want to work with 24 creative practitioners from around the UK, exploring four key topics over four weeks: Recycling, Removing, Repurposing and Reworking. For each theme we are choosing 6 artists for a 1 week micro-residency.

Details of the micro-residencies listed bellow:

Recycle

1st - 5th April

Led by artist Diego Valente, the participants selected will be looking at materials generated by the photographic darkroom, exploring new and pre-existing avenues for the ethical disposal of waste. As a group, we will also be considering the life and use of materials beyond the darkroom and their cross-pollination into other industries.
Considering how our actions inform the way we connect and our material impact. Our investigations will begin with resin coated paper, films, film canisters, obsolete cameras, silver from chemicals, and water from washing.

Remove

6th - 12th April

Led by artist Melanie King, the participants selected will research removing and reducing toxicity from analogue photographic practices. As a group, we will consider the usage of toxic materials and their relationship with the ability to develop and fix and image. Weighing up and considering the impact of ‘natural’ vs. ‘artificial’ chemicals, we will experiment with ingredients including walnut pigment, coffee, herbs, cola and algae’s.  Our aim will be to remove harmful chemicals or at minimum reduce them.

Repurpose

13th - 19th April

Led by artist Almudena Romero, the participants selected will consider how pre-existing materials, resources and beings can be adapted and utilised in photographic processes. As a group, we will be using items salvaged from bins to make cameras and photographic devices and extracting plant pigments for light sensitive photographic emulsions. We will consider the photographic potential of all substances, materials, forms, organisms and bodies. Reconsidering what constitutes a device, we will investigate the forms through which a visual image can be recorded. 

Rework

20th - 26th April

Led by artist Hannah Fletcher, the participants selected will unpick the systems that hold together the photographic darkroom and consider how they are negatively or positively impacting the wider ecosystem. As a group, we will also consider ‘codes of good practice’ and why these are not always necessary to follow or enforce. Raising questions and issues surrounding the importance of archive-ability, we will look to revise and alter current systems, considering circular economies and systems thinking approaches. We will be collaborating with Phytology to look at water and chemical disposal, attempting to create a system incorporating hyperaccumilating plants and water systems in the bathroom.

Deadline: 21st January 2020

To apply, please email londonaltphoto@gmail.com with the following:

- Title of the week you are applying to as the subject e.g. Recycle

- Your name

- A short paragraph (max 500 words) on the relevance of your current research or practice

- Any website or social media links to your research or practice

- The benefit you hope the residency will bring to your own work