Chemigrams: Composition and Concept

Instructor: Bridget Conn | Dates: Saturdays, May 2 - June 13 (skipping May 23rd) | Time: 12-3 PM | Tuition: $395 (Members) $465 (Non-Members) | Class Size Max: 6

Chemigrams are a cameraless silver gelatin process that relies on light, chemistry, and substances applied to the paper surface (resists), that can produce a plethora of abstract and non-objective results. This online course is designed for artists and photographers eager to explore experimental darkroom techniques at home, and improve their compositions and ideas. Through lectures, demonstrations, assignments completed outside of classtime, and group critiques, students will experiment with different resists, refine their compositions, and learn to connect abstraction with concept. By the end of the course, students will have the skills to confidently create chemigrams, assess and adjust their process to achieve desired colors and values in their final prints, and understand the historical and contemporary significance of cameraless photography. Prior darkroom experience is recommended as this class will expand beyond technique to focus on conceptual applications. Beginners willing to spend extra time to learn basic chemistry handling are welcome.

Bridget Conn is a photographic artist who explores the potential of photography as a chemical and physical medium through cameraless experimental processes.

Conn’s awards include Klompching Gallery’s FRESH 2022 exhibition finalist, Rfotofolio’s 2021 Denis Roussel Awards, and she was shortlisted for the 2023 and 2024 Denis Roussel Fellowship. She has exhibited at the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO; the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA; Candela Books + Gallery, Richmond, VA; The Halide Project, Philadelphia PA; Chiang Mai Photography Festival, Thailand; and Institute of Photographic Studies of Catalonia, Spain; among others. Her work has been featured in Analog Forever Magazine, Focal Plane Journal, and in Christina Z. Anderson’s 2022 book “The Experimental Darkroom”.

Conn is the founder and former director of The Asheville Darkroom in Asheville, North Carolina. An enthusiastic educator, she has taught workshops at the Penland School of Crafts in NC, at The Experimental Photo Festival in Spain, at conferences for the Society for Photographic Education, and at numerous colleges and universities across the USA.

She received her BFA from Tulane University and MFA from the University of Georgia. She currently resides in Nashville, Indiana, USA.