In a world full of fast-paced images, we sometimes forget how special early photographs were: rare, slow and almost magical. During this workshop, you will discover how photographs used to be created with nothing more than a box, a tiny hole and some chemistry. This workshop is for secondary education, all majors.
You will work with a camera obscura, the special predecessor of the modern camera, and take your own picture the way it was done in the old days: slowly and thoughtfully. Then you develop your image in the darkroom and see how a white sheet of paper slowly turns into a real photograph. A magical moment with your class that you won't soon forget.
In the exhibition Early Gaze, FOMU presents never-before-seen photographs from the 19th century and highlights the diversity of the medium. From familiar subjects such as portraits and landscapes, to less common photography such as propaganda, medical and juridical photography. This exhibition offers a fascinating overview of the versatility and development of early photography.
Practical
- For who? secondary education, for all majors. When making your reservation, please indicate the age, level and/or area of interest of the students, so our guide can prepare the visit to your needs
- Duration: 150 minutes (2,5 hours)
- Max: 15 students per group
- Per group of 15 students, 2 supervisors are admitted free of charge. For each group of 15 students, at least 1 supervisor must be present.
- Museum admission: free for visitors under 18 years of age
- Period: from 24.10.2025 to 01.03.2026
What to expect?
- During a 2.5-hour workshop, students take and develop their own analogue photo with a camera obscura, the fascinating predecessor of photography
- Students actively discover how images were created
- In pairs, they take two photos with an angle of their own choice, inspired by themes from early 19th-century photography that recur in the exhibition Early Gaze
- In the darkroom, they develop their own photo
- The guide encourages them to critically reflect on their role as a photographer and the photographed
- Students go home with their own developed image
Themes & competences
- Themes covered: photography, history, imaging, power relationship, representation, identity, experimentation, image manipulation, 19th-century photography, camera obscura, old photographic techniques, analogue photography, consent/consent
- Key competences: physical and emotional awareness, social-relational, digital competence and media literacy, sciences and technology, citizenship, historical awareness, innovation thinking, creativity, collaboration, self-awareness and self-expression, cultural awareness and cultural expression
Relevant subjects: visual arts, physics, chemistry, citizenship, photography - video - film, behavioural & cultural sciences, history, philosophy of life, media & communication - social skills, philosophy & moral sciences, Dutch, English, French
