Het Kleinste Kamertje

analog visual media techniques

Het Kleinste Kamertje is an Utrecht (NL) based collective for analog visual media techniques. 

The name refers to our headquarter (a DIY toilet-turned-into-darkroom) and captures a sense of accessibility we passionately want to radiate. A safe space where knowledge and tools can be shared – where old techniques lead to new experiments. 

How do we provide this safe space? Het Kleinste Kamertje is open for everyone – age, gender, experience and materials don’t matter, as long as you are open for an experiment. It is a community to exchange knowledge and enthusiasm. We have an open darkroom, gifted equipment free to borrow for experimentation and learning and a creative supportive space (De Nijverheid) that’s full of possibilities.

Not only do we distinguish ourselves in terms of accessibility and community, we also do this with our mindful approach. We do this by shifting away from linear creative processes that progress towards an outcome – we want to raise awareness to the beauty and magic of the process itself. How important it is to be in the moment and anticipate. This means we move away from the idea that photography is ocular centric. The practice itself is tangible. Touch the camera and paper. Hear the shutter. Smell the chemicals. Be present with your body and your device. 

In a time where social media encourages us to capture and share the present, and hereby a potential archived past, we want to stress how important it is to be aware of the moment. To see photography as both a communal and tactile process.