Date: Saturday, 22nd March
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Melanie is interested in the relationship between the environment, photography and materiality.

In the workshop, you will make a low cost, alternative film developer that uses coffee, vitamin C and washing soda as its primary ingredients.

The day will start with a brief history of the process and how Melanie has used it in her diverse and unique practice. Bring a roll of exposed black and white film between 100 and 400 ISO to be processed (Ilford HP5, Ilford Delta 100, Kentmere 400, TMAX 400 have been tested).

To bring: Cover for clothes.

All other materials will be provided. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

In this experimental workshop, participants will explore the relationship between photography, drawing and projection. 

Date: Sunday, 23rd March
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Designed to create more questions than answers, this sensory workshop will appeal to those with an interest in interdisciplinary practice and art history, exploring a variety of research sources, experimental drawing exercises, and ways of making and thinking about photography. The workshop will culminate in reworking and manipulating found 35mm negatives, to then present a collaborative screening on a slide projector.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own negatives/positive slide film which they’d like to use as materials for projection.

Alexander Mourant is an artist, educator and writer based in London. His debut monograph, The Night and the First Sculpture, was published by Folium, 2024. 

Join us for a hands-on workshop with Nettie Edwards to learn all about creating beautiful Anthotypes using natural materials! 

Date: Saturday, 29th March
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Join us for a unique event at the Old Fire Station where Nettie Edwards will showcase her stunning anthotype creations.

The Anthotype process uses the photo sensitive properties of plants and vegetables to create imagery.

Nettie Edwards is an avid researcher, artist and educator. Nettie has been an Anthotype artist since the early 2000s.Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in many collections across the world.

Nettie will give a brief history of the medium followed by a demonstration including an explanation of the science behind the process.

Participants will grind and mix an emulsion and will go home with coated paper, underneath a plant silhouette, in an acrylic envelope, ready to expose in a window/greenhouse.

To bring: Cover for clothes. Bag for taking your work home.

All materials will be provided. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Date: Sunday, 30th March
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Diego Ferrari explores architecture, urbanism, and embodiment through performative photography, creating situations that examine social relationships.

‘Through Photography as Performance’, participants will explore interaction, participation, and improvisation using a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates performance, ephemeral installations, and photography. They will engage with the immaterial presence of air, space, the body, and recycled materials to rethinking the boundaries between self, nature and the build environment.

To bring: A camera. Please contact us if you do not have access to a camera. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Join us for a fascinating exploration of Phytography with Dr Karel Doing! 

Date: Saturday, 5th April
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

The term Phytogram, is a technique that combines plants and photochemical emulsion and was developed by Dr Karel Doing as part of his PHD in 2017.

Dr Karel Doing is an Oxford based independent artist, filmmaker and writer whose practice investigates between culture and nature by means of analogue and organic process, experiment and co-creation. Karel has recently published a book called 'Ruins and Resilience: the longevity of Experimental Film'.

Karel will describe the process and the theory behind his work. After a brief demonstration, the class will make Phytograms to take home.

No prior knowledge is needed.

To bring: Cover for clothes. Bag for taking your prints home.

All materials will be provided. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Join us for Botanicograms by Megan Ringrose, a fun and interactive event where you will see a demonstration and make your own Botanicogram. 

Date: Sunday, 6th April
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Following a period of intense research, the Botanicogram was developed in 2019 by Megan Ringrose. The process is based on plant-based materials and iron. The process is one of the most ecologically sound photographic mediums in existence. It seeks to call out the increase in the use plastic in photographic practice. It also addresses the idea of resource within photography, the extraction of silver and the subsequent social injustices that grew out of its use in photography.

Megan’s practice is focused on retracing the beginnings of photography to find new sustainable solutions for photography. The artist researches light sensitive emulsion recipes from the 1800’s and earlier. The process is slow and thoughtful, possibly the antithesis to today’s fast, digitally driven imagery.

The workshop will include a demonstration of the process. We will grind plants to extract colour from sequoia cones to mix the emulsion ready for exposure. You will expose your own botanicograms using the plant/photogram exposure technique.

To bring: Cover for clothes. Bag for taking your prints home.

All materials will be provided. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Join us for an interactive workshop where Sayako Sugawara will teach you how to create stunning chemigrams using simple materials and techniques. 

Date: Saturday, 12th April
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

A chemigram (from "chemistry" and gramma, Greek for "things written") is an experimental piece of art where an image is made by painting with chemicals on light-sensitive paper (such as photographic paper).

In this workshop, Sayako Sugawara, will deliver a short history of the chemigram process. You will be making plant-based developers to create your chemigrams rather than toxic chemicals. You will be introduced to the thinking behind this approach and how to make the plant developers from everyday plant material. You will work with black and white photographic paper to produce chemigrams of your own.

Sayako’s practice is centred around experimentation with sustainable and environmentally responsible materials. The artist follows this process of observing and responding to explore memories and imagination while dealing with the physical properties of the materials themselves.

To bring: Cover for clothes. Bag for taking your prints home.

All materials will be provided. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Navigating Oxford through psychogeographical processes and slow walking in a workshop run by Sean Wyatt.

Date: Sunday, 13th April
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Psychogeography is the study of the effects of the geographical environment on human emotions, behaviours, and experiences. It explores the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit, focusing on how the physical landscape—whether urban or rural—shapes feelings, moods, and actions.

Originating from the avant-garde movement of Situationist International in the 1950s, psychogeography was influenced by French theorist Guy Debord, who defined it as the study of the "specific effects of the geographical environment...on the emotions and behaviour of individuals."

Sean Wyatt, photographer and lecturer based in Oxford is primarily concerned with ecology, land politics and psychological responses to landscape/s will introduce participants to some key concepts of Psychogeography and facilitate a walking exploration of Oxford City Centre with an emphasis on slowing down and observation.

Sean is also a member of the Sound/Image/Media encounters research group and has exhibited across the U.K. and in Europe.

Join us for a hands-on workshop with Ky Lewis to learn how to make your own pinhole cameras and capture unique images! 

Date: Saturday, 19th April
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Ky, is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator and educator based in South London with an experimental and alternative photography and printmaking practice with a particular focus on environmental issues and site responsive location works. Lewis is a highly dedicated, skilled and talented artist. Her work is widely exhibited and collected, internationally.

In the workshop you will receive a short history and an explanation of the science behind the theory of the pinhole camera. You will make your own pinhole camera during the workshop, learning how to apply this knowledge to make other cameras at home. You will learn how to set up a pop-up darkroom and use the chemicals needed to develop the silver gelatine photographs you have made exposed in your own cameras.

To bring: Cover for clothes. Bag for taking your prints home.

All materials will be provided.  A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Come join us for a hands-on workshop where you can learn all about cyanotypes with the talented artist Lucy Kane! 

Date: Saturday, 26th April
Time: 10.30am-4pm
Location: Old Fire Station, Oxford

Create your own blueprint or cyanotype using iron salts, sunlight, paper and water. We will be creating images using plants as templates echoing the work of pioneer Sir John Herschel and the historical practice of Anna Atkins.

Cyanotype photography is a camera-less technique that involves laying an object on paper coated with a solution of iron salts before exposing it to UV light and washing with water to create stunning white and prussian blue images.

The workshop is presented by artist and educator Lucy Kane.They will give a brief history of the medium followed by a demonstration including an explanation of the science behind the process.The remaining time will be taken up by sensitising your own paper, arranging plant silhouettes then exposing them to sunlight or Ultraviolet light.

No prior knowledge is needed. Don't miss this chance to immerse yourself in the mesmerizing blue hues of Lucy's creations!

To bring: Cover for clothes. Bag for taking your prints home.

All materials will be provided. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.