Brooklyn Darkroom Fights Closure To Save Analog Art

BROOKLYN, NY— When Lucia Rollow opened the Bushwick Community Darkroom in a closet in her basement in 2011, she had a simple goal.

“I lost my darkroom access,” Rollow said. “Then I thought, there are other people in the same situation."

She launched a Kickstarter campaign to test whether others wanted the space.

“If we didn't make the goal, then the community didn't need it, and I wouldn't do it,” she said.

But, she made the goal.

Since opening in 2011, the darkroom has moved four times and now operates from its fifth location, a storefront on Himrod Street in Bushwick.

It remains one the few spaces for analog art.

Film photographers process negatives under red safelights. Students learn traditional printing techniques. Members arrive at all hours to work in a shared creative space.

Last week, that future appeared uncertain.

On May 26, Rollow emailed members to announce she could no longer sustain the darkroom financially and planned to shut down operations. The announcement prompted an immediate response from members who began organizing to keep the space alive.

Among those who stepped forward was Sasha Brunetti, an independent filmmaker and founder of Ceaseless Media. Brunetti first visited the darkroom earlier this year for a large-format photography workshop.

“I have found a home, a community, and a space that inspires me every day,” Brunetti wrote in a fundraising appeal.

Brunetti and other supporters began working with Rollow to stabilize the business and take over the lease. The effort gained urgency after negotiations with a prospective buyer collapsed.

Rollow said the buyer offered $5,000 for the business, payable in installments of $500 over 10 months, while seeking immediate control of recurring membership revenue.

Instead, supporters launched a fundraising campaign and began developing a new business model centered on partnerships and expanded programming.

Brunetti said Ceaseless Media plans to join the darkroom as a business partner if organizers can secure the lease.

“It'll be more of an all-encompassing creative space,” Brunetti said. “Artistic studios, screenings, rental house for equipment.”

The production company already operates within New York's film industry, creating what organizers believe is a natural connection between filmmaking and analog photography.

The darkroom currently offers introductory classes in camera operation, black-and-white film developing and darkroom printing.

Specialty workshops include cyanotypes and caffenol printing.

Members receive 24-hour access after orientation, discounted classes and reduced service rates.

Film developing and scanning services begin at $15 for 35mm film.

For Rollow, the fight to save the space reinforced what distinguishes the darkroom from commercial photo labs.

Rollow believes the darkroom's challenges stem less from demand than from trying to manage every aspect of the business alone.

“I've just been trying to do everything by myself,” she said. “I can't do the marketing and run the actual physical space.”

Brunetti sees the proposed partnership as a chance to distribute those responsibilities and create a more sustainable future.

“The idea of not having to take care of everything all the time sounds really appealing,” Rollow said.

The group now faces a June 30 deadline to secure the lease and stabilize operations.

Inside the darkroom, members continue working beneath safelights and enlargers. A revolving light-tight door separates the workspace from the outside world. The process remains largely unchanged from decades ago.

The Bushwick Community Darkroom operates at 334 Himrod St.

To learn more, book classes or make a donation to support the space, visit the GoFundMe or its website.