ABOUT
Founded by Abbas Nazari in 2009, Kiln Photo, or The Kiln Photo Workshops as it was originally known, is a space for photographers and visual artists to create and develop their skills. After Guildford Adult Education collapsed their photography department in the mid to late 2000s, removing darkrooms in replacement for digital suites, Ab was faced with a decision: give in to the ‘out with the old’ mentality or save the facility to continue teaching traditional methods of photography. Of course, he chose the latter, but first he needed to find the space.
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Ab already had connections to Badshot Lea, having rented one of the outbuildings of Runfold House as a studio for commercial photography. He also had a little darkroom on the first floor at The Kiln. At the time, the top floor of The Kiln was lying disused. One of Ab’s friends, Susan, a photographer renting a studio on the first floor, encouraged him to enquire.
Top floor of The Kiln Village Hall, Badshot Lea, 2007
Once they had the space, Ab and Dylan Haines, another founding tutor of Kiln Photo, proceeded to move the darkroom from Guildford to Badshot Lea, saving it from going into the skip! Shiho Kito helped to establish The Kiln Photo Workshops, with graphic design and the setting up of the website. In 2019, Seamus Flanagan joined the team initially to strengthen the tuition for digital processes. Now he manages the website and graphic design for Kiln Photo.
Black & White Darkroom, 2010
Exhibition by Shiho Kito, 2011
The Tice Room, 2010
Throughout the years, the studio has developed and we have expanded. The original space included the main room, known as ‘The Tice Room’ and ‘Kiln No.2’, now the black and white darkroom. Later, we acquired ‘Kiln No.1’ which operates as a colour darkroom and then ‘Kiln No.3’ a space for alternative processes, framing and mounting which was originally intended to be a book binding room. The original little darkroom on the first floor is now used for processing film. In The Tice Room, we have built temporary walls partitioning the space, making it perfect for showcasing work from many of our members.
The Tice Room, 2017
The Processing Room, once Ab's darkroom, 2010
Walking around the space, there are still key features visible of The Kiln's past life as a hop drying kiln. Look out for the hop floor winch and the original tally markings for the last order for Youngs brewery. Ask one of the Tutors to open ‘The Hop Room’ to learn more about the history of The Kiln.