Printing with the Sun: Cyanotypes, Archives & Memory

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A hands-on cyanotype workshop in Philadelphia explores photographic processes, archives and memory; no prior art or photography experience is needed.

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Turn photographs, objects, and traces of memory into luminous blue images in this hands-on cyanotype workshop! Turn photographs, objects, and traces of memory into luminous blue images in this hands-on cyanotype workshop connecting historical photographic processes with contemporary creative practice. Cyanotype is an early photographic printing process known for its distinctive Prussian-blue images. In this workshop, participants will learn the basic process while considering how artists can use photographs, documents, plants, lace, handwriting, silhouettes, and everyday objects to create new visual responses to personal and community archives. Rather than simply reproducing the past, we will experiment with transforming archival materials into new works of art. A family photograph might become a layered silhouette. A handwritten letter might appear beside leaves collected from a meaningful place. An ordinary object might become evidence of a story. No previous art or photography experience is necessary. Participants will leave with their own cyanotype works and new ideas for combining alternative photography, archival research, family history, collage, and memory work. Come make an archive with sunlight, chemistry, imagination, and what you choose to preserve.

West Central Germantown