Archives Month Open House | Workshop: Creating Cyanotypes With Em White (Workshop 1)

In honor of Virginia Archives Month, expand the ways in which you engage with archives. Join us for a cyanotype workshop that celebrates this year’s theme, “Oh Snap: Photography in the Archives.” Local artist Em White will discuss cyanotypes as a medium, demonstrate the process, and lead attendees in creating their own cyanotype. Participants will gain an understanding of historic photography practices and the importance of properly caring for these items. All materials will be supplied.

Workshop host Em White is a visual artist and educator specializing in large-format photography and handmade photographic processes. Raised in rural Virginia, she creates artwork that emphasizes personal relationships to land and explores how it impacts identity and community. White often works with alternative and historic processes, enjoying the slow pace they demand and any opportunity for experimentation and play. When not in the darkroom, she can be found walking along the river with her three hounds or making tintypes at her analog portrait studio in Richmond. She has taught at the Corcoran School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Penumbra Foundation and various arts institutions.

This workshop is offered at 12:00 p.m. Register soon to reserve your spot! (This workshop is also offered on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m.)

We invite you to stay arrive early or stay after the workshop for additional Archives Open House programs:

10:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. | Tours of the Library of Virginia
Separate registrations are required.

11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (hourly) | Archivist Talks
Library staff members will share information about photographs, their care, and where to find them in collections. You’ll have the opportunity to engage directly with archival material.

10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (ongoing) | Makers Station Activity
Get creative at our makers station using images found in archival collections from across the Commonwealth.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Mason at maryann.mason@lva.virginia.gov or 804.692.3648. This is a free event, but registration is required. Limited free parking is available underneath the Library at 800 East Broad Street.