Bushwick Community Darkroom

Lucia graduated art school in 2009, a tough time for anyone to be searching for a job. Without any prospects, she turned to what she loved and knew best: the darkroom. It started as a small setup in her basement and continued to move location as demand grew, until she settled into her current space, a warehouse-size spot in Bushwick.
Using her loans through Square Capital, she’s been able to take over a space next door, allowing for the expansion of a large-format darkroom.
For more information on Square Capital, visit squareup.com/capital
TRANSCRIPTION:
I’m Lucia Rollow, and I’m the founder slash director of the Bushwick Community Darkroom. I graduated from art school in 2009, couldn’t really find a job, and I just wanted to work in the darkroom. And then it occurred to me that there might be other people in a similar situation, so I set up a darkroom in my basement, set up a website, and started renting it out, and teaching classes. It just kind of grew.
With our third loan through Square Capital we have expanded to take over more space in the back, we’ve added a large-format printing darkroom. Putting this white piece of paper in the tray and seeing this image come up, it’s magic. So it’s really rewarding to see that and be able to give that to somebody.
The process of growing from a closet in a basement to a complex has been really incredible. It’s a testament to the strength of film photography, the strength of the community, and having the Square Capital funding has made such a huge difference in our ability to grow.
This was a dream, and now this is reality.