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The Cambridge Darkroom officially opened in 1984, although its origins were some six years earlier. It closed down - after several reincarnations - in 2004. These pages document its beginnings and some of its history.
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Cambridge Darkroom
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Written by Roy Hammans/Brian Human
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Photography is a curious, pluralistic medium: part art and part science; the stuff of both holiday snaps and glossy advertising; accessible to the raw novice yet capable of calling on the highest skill levels; a medium for literal visual documentation of our world and a way of exploring our personal inner visions.
Its mass appeal lies in this diversity and the challenge of reconciling its many forms into a unified statement of the medium’s potency. The Cambridge Darkroom rose to that challenge.
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Cambridge Darkroom
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Written by Roy Hammans/Brian Human
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In October 1978 six people with a passion for photography met in the Dewdrop Inn Public House, Gwydir Street, Cambridge to form the St Matthews Photo Workshop. The Workshop group published four aims:
- to make a photographic record of the people and buildings of the St Matthews area
[an undeveloped Victorian inner-city part of Cambridge, UK]
- to explore the particular social and environmental qualities of the area through photography
- to make people in Cambridge more aware of the qualities of the area through photography; and
- to find and record old photographs of the area.
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Cambridge Darkroom
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Written by Roy Hammans/Brian Human
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The Cambridge Darkroom was formally constituted as a company limited by guarantee on 11th January 1984. The objects for which the company was established were stated as:
‘to further and advance the education of the public in the art of photography and to promote public knowledge, appreciation and understanding thereof.’
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Cambridge Darkroom
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Written by Roy Hammans/Brian Human
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The writers ceased to be involved in the day-to-day administration of the gallery from 1990 onwards, hence the material available for this latter history is rather sparse. We would welcome contributions from anyone involved during these years. Please contact the author via the contact form.
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Cambridge Darkroom
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Written by Roy Hammans/Brian Human
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Friday, 24 October 2008 21:48 |
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The Cambridge Darkroom was something of a paradox. It was small, under-funded, provincial and committed to its local and educational roots, yet for much of its life it enjoyed a national and international reputation at the forefront of photographic art practice.
The latter was achieved by a deep – though by no means exclusive – concern for the more conceptual uses of photography and the development of photography’s links with the other visual arts. And crucially, this latter was underpinned by the former, a solid foundation of local support. Achieving all of this required a commitment to originating major new exhibitions (especially group shows like Re-Visions, that explored the gallery’s all-encompassing view of photographic practice), a creative selection of touring shows from established artists known to the general public, historical work, and shows by emerging local artists.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 01 November 2008 13:23 |
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