Darkroom garden teaches students about sustainable photography practices

The sustainable darkroom project is an initiative that was started in August 2021 at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Michaelis School of Fine Art. Under the guidance of UCT lecturers Svea Josephy and Vanessa Cowling, the project aims to teach students ways to make darkroom practices in photography more sustainable.

Students involved in the project helped to plant a garden in the Rosedale parking lot at Michaelis. The plants from the garden are used to make anthotypes, sustainable photographic prints made from plant pigments. Students also use the plants to experiment with making sustainable darkroom chemicals and to do research into sustainable darkroom practices.