Until recently, there was a void in Cleveland's art scene: the lack of a community darkroom, studio and photographic gallery. That will change with the opening of Cleveland Print Room, an educational organization located in the ArtCraft Building.

The organization "aspires to build awareness and foster appreciation for fine art, hand-processed photography," according to its Facebook page. Cleveland Print Room will offer workshops, affordable work space and collaborative exhibition space. Its members are devotees of shooting and printing film manually.

"When my daughter began looking for photography classes to take around 2005, we found that high schools, arts centers and universities and colleges were actively disassembling or downsizing their darkroom facilities," explains Shari Wilkins, founder of Cleveland Print Room. "This is a troubling trend and we lamented the lost possibilities. When one of the local art centers began selling off their art supplies and photography equipment, we were there, buying the photo equipment up. At that time, we were not even really sure why we were doing this."

Yet that prescient moment led to the creation of the Print Room. "After researching the need in the gap in services along with the resurgence of 20th century emulsion-based photography, it was an easy decision," she says.

Members will have full access to the space nearly 24 hours per day, and there will be a darkroom, studio and exhibition space. Wilkins hopes to be open by the fall.

The venue is located at 2550 Superior in a building rife with studios and galleries.

Source: Cleveland Print Room
Writer: Lee Chilcote