We are a group of emerging artists who since 2011 have set up and run a not-for-profit photographic darkroom as a community interest company in New Cross Gate, London SE14, just round the corner from Goldsmiths College.

The Gate Darkroom is aimed at budding artists, photographers, students and all who wish to work with black & white darkroom photographic processes in a communal & supportive environment.

The space consists of a cutting & viewing studio and a darkroom, all on ground floor level. The darkroom has four bench mounted enlargers for black & white printing, from 35mm to 5×4 inches.  There are three Durst enlargers and a De Vere 504 with a Multigrade 500 head.  Paper developing is done in trays with chemicals provided, taking up to 20 x 24 inch paper.  We also have lith developer and a range of toners.  A limited amount of communal paper is available for general use.  All equipment and chemicals needed for film development are also available.   The studio has a preparation work bench with light box, cutter, resin-coated paper dryer, a fiber paper dryer, a film drying cabinet and dry mount press.  There are two large darkroom sinks for print washing and slot drop-down wash units.

We want to make the darkroom as accessible as possible and keep the operational costs as low as we can.   If you become a member of The Gate Darkroom you will automatically have unlimited access to all its facilities, day and night, every day of the year.  Membership costs £60 per month and we ask for an initial three month commitment. There are no further charges other than a £20 refundable key deposit.  At present, we are running an offer of £165 for the initial three month membership.  This fee covers everything.  If you wish to continue your membership after three months, this is by direct debit at the start of each month, £60 in advance.

We have recently introduced an open access scheme, run by members who host a session.  Non members may purchase a bundle of darkroom hours to be used within a set period, usually a month, only at times when a member is available to host.  The costs are 20 hours for £80 and 30 hours for £120.

These charges are set to cover the rental and other ongoing costs of the group.  Not only is this excellent value, it also represents a real opportunity to be involved in the development of a unique and exciting project.

The Gate Darkroom is based at Bond House, Goodwood Road SE14 6BL (http://goo.gl/maps/Ghrc4).  Bond House is an artist studio complex operated by ASC Artists’ Studio Company (http://www.ascstudios.co.uk/), a charity that supports visual and performing artists.

Bond House is also the home of Zeitgeist Arts Projects which supports new and ambitious artists with practical ways to sustain their practice (http://www.zeitgeistartsprojects.com/index.html).

Bond House is extremely accessible from most parts of London.  It is barely a minute’s walk to New Cross Gate station.  Trains from London Bridge to New Cross Gate take 5 minutes, leaving every few minutes.  Regular services on London Overground link New Cross Gate with Canada Water (Jubilee Line) in 5 mins.  There are also numerous direct buses including 36, 436, 453, 171 & 172 via Elephant & Castle and central London.

If you are interested in finding out more, please call either Lee Murphy on 07470 337466 or David Whiting on 07854 948 527 or on email at thegatedarkroom@gmail.com.

Location Map:  http://goo.gl/maps/Ghrc4

Visit us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheGateDarkroom