In the Beginning
In the late 1990s, several local photographers—led by founding member Scott Peterman—rented a basement space in the old Calderwood Bakery building in Portland, Maine. They installed a 36” Collenta color processor, a crude C-41 drum film processor, two large format enlargers, and a full assembly of black-and-white processing/printing equipment. The total cost of the space and equipment was divided among the early participants, who became “members” and paid monthly dues for access. The space was also rented by the hour to any non-members in need, to defray cost and build community.
Photo A Go-Go
In order to reduce membership costs, the original Bakery crew launched Photo A-GoGo, a fundraiser and party featuring framed prints from local to nationally recognized photographers. The auction grew exponentially over the years, and after two decades and counting, Photo A-GoGo is now one of Maine’s most-beloved cultural events.
To Westbrook, Back to Portland
After relocating to a larger warehouse space in Westbrook for 10 years, the Bakery returned to Portland in 2017—thanks to an invitation from Jocelyn Lee to join her new arts and gallery space in Woodford’s Corner. The Bakery now shares a home with Speedwell Projects, one of Portland’s premier galleries.
Photography has undergone profound changes since we first came together over twenty years ago (RIP, color processor), but the Bakery continues its mission to provide state-of-the-art digital and darkroom resources, as well as educational programming and artist talks to help photographers create, hone, and inspire.
ALUMNI
Tristan Spinski
Tom Phillips
Tonee Harbert
Sean Harris
Sam Walker
Sean Thomas
Shoshanna White
Susannah Jordan
Tanja Hollander
Tom Bolduc
Kimberly Rogers
Liz Bieber
Matthew Robbins
Max Brownsherger
Meghan Farrell
Michael Martin
Michael Wilson
Nancy Horton
Natalie Conn
Nathaniel May
Patrick Scholz
Rachel Monegue
Rachel Schwartz
Robert Monroe
Ronald Deprez
Scott Peterman
Carol Savage
Charles Grunder
Chris Beth
Clara Yim
Courtney Mooney
Dana Colihan
David Leith
David Levitt
David Segre
Derek Jackson
Dylan Hausthor
Elizabeth Atterbury
Gina Platt
Grace Hopkins Lisle
Jack Nordby
James Conrad
James Helms
Jennifer Calivas
Jessica Williams
Jocelyn Lee
John Monroe
Jon Tobiasz
Justin Lewis
Kat Miller
Alex Jacoboson
Alexandra Rheault
Andy Cross
Amy Steenstra
Amy Temple
Ben DeHaan
Benzo Harris
Bob Monroe
Brian Jones
Brian Norris
Bryan Graf
Carly Messer