
Projects
The Darkroom at Beach Creative was founded in 2015, in this time I have delivered projects within the community which I'd love to tell you about.
The Darkroom at Beach Creative was established in 2015, and in that time I have delivered many community-focused projects both on and offsite.
I'd like to personally thank all of the funding bodies that have enabled these projects to take place. Each funding bodies have been named within each project description.

Photography Summer School 2024
This 4 day Summer school was funded by The Richard and Siobhan Coward Foundation which:
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promotes the use of analogue photography
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supports the provision of community photography to improve the health and well-being of children and young people under 25.
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During this 4 day summer school the 4 young adults took part in a series of analogue photography workshops such as:
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using 35mm film and cameras
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printing from 35mm negatives in the darkroom
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using pinhole cameras
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chemigram printing
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cyanotype printing
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watergram printing
The final session resulted in a mini exhibition that hightlighted and celebrated their hard work and progress.

Camp Bestival 2024
I was very lucky to have been invited to run FREE cyanotype workshops at both Camp Bestival Dorset and Shropshire. We ran 5 workshops each day for 4 days at each festival. During these workshops we created over 800 cyanotype prints at each festival...that's over 1600 prints!

Generation Cyanotypes 2024
Generation Cyanotypes is a project funded by Kent Council as part of their RISE grant. The project was designed by Rebecca Armstrong, a Herne Bay High sixth form student. Generation Cyanotypes was an inter-generational creative project, inviting people of all ages to reflect on their memories of Herne Bay. Rebecca, with my guidance, delivered a series of cyanotype workshops, enabling the participants to learn something new and creative a piece of art that formed part of a collaborative exhibition. Throughout the project, I mentored Rebecca on the importance of risk assessments, budgeting, project planningand delivery. The project ended with an exhibiton at Beach Creative which displayed all the wonderful artworks created by the participants and Rebecca.

Silver Arts Award 2019
This 6 week project invited 4 young adults (age 13-17) to take part in an art project structured around the Silver Arts Award frame work. All 4 students took part in analogue photography workshops, planning and delivering an exhibition and research. They all passed with flying colours and were able to add a Level 2 qualification in the arts onto their CV.

UCA Art School Week
I've been involved in designing and delivering multiple Summer School/Half Term Art school weeks based at UCA. With a focus on creative skill development, these condensed weeks invite the young adults to experience Arts School and have a taster into what it feels like to study at UCA. Funded by UCA

In A Space - Artist Residency 2022
I was lucky enough to be selected to take part in an artist residency based in Canterbury, funded by 'In a Sapce'. During this time I delivered a series of workshops within a temporary darkroom space on the high street.

Artist Residency Opportunies 2024
In 2024 I decided to offer mini artist residency opportunities in my darkroom based in Herne Bay. These residencies were open to early career artists and students and we're recruited via an open call. The artists involved found the time and facilities to be most beneficial for their practice, and I aim to offer more in the near future. These opportunties were funded by my own personal investment.

Blueprints of Dover 2022
This project was funded by Social Enterprise Kent (SEK)
This 4 part workshop aimed to bring together the residents of Dover (and neighbouring areas) through the
means of active arts engagement. Throughout the 4 sessions, participants had the opportunity to explore one of the earliest forms of photography, cyanotype printing. They used their own images of Dover and their lifes, to create their own cyanotype prints, along with a collaborative piece which is now displayed proudly at St Radigund's Community Centre in Dover.

Bronze Arts Award 2017 & 2018
In the Summer of 2017 & 2018, I planned two summer school programmes for young adults, structured around the Bronze level Arts Award framework. All 9 of the young adults involved achieved a pass mark, enabling them to add a Level 1 qualification in the arts to their CV. The 2017 project was partially funded with the Arts Award Access fund which enabled the project to be free for attendees. The remaining funds were crowdfunded by the community.