ABOUT OPEN KAMERA CIC

Why Kamera with a K?

Because language holds stories. And this one is ours.
Because we come from places where words don’t always line up with what they’re supposed to mean.

The “K” is our way of keeping the door open to where we come from. It’s a small act of resistance, a reminder that our work is shaped by migration, translation, the courage it takes to start over and the idea that language carries memory and meaning.

Open Kamera is not just a name. It’s a practice. A way of staying true to the imperfect, handmade, cross-cultural spirit we carry in everything we do. To say: we come from somewhere else, and that’s something to celebrate.

And then there’s the Open part. Because what good is a camera - or a community - if it’s closed?

We believe creative spaces should be open:
Open to people who’ve never held an analogue camera before.
Open to mistakes, process, and play.
Open to all backgrounds, languages, and learning styles.
Open to being shaped by those who enter.
Open like a window.
Open like a door that doesn’t shut behind you.

“Openness is not just about access, it’s about how you’re met when you arrive. That someone looks you in the eye and says: you belong here, just as you are.”

Open Kamera CIC is a grassroots photography project and social enterprise based in Plymouth, UK. We use analogue photography and creative education to build spaces of connection, care, and confidence.

We run workshops, community events, creative labs and slow process spaces where people can feel safe to explore, reflect, play and make something real with their hands. Our work blends socially engaged photography, photo-therapy tools, and DIY darkroom magic. We focus less on the final frame and more on what happens in between - the trust, the experimentation, the mess, the laughter, the pause. Our approach is raw, relational, and radically human.

This is more than a photography project.
This is what happens when you leave the door open, and trust people to walk in.

Meet the founders

We started Open Kamera to make creativity more accessible, and we don’t /just/ teach photography. We co-build temporary homes for creativity - where everyone’s voice has value, and every frame is a shared act of seeing.

  • Co-founder of Open Kamera CIC / socially engaged photographer / educator / creative facilitator

    “I believe photography is a way of listening - to the world, to the body, to the quiet stories inside us. Not everything needs to be said out loud. Some things can just be held in the frame.”

    Kinga is the heart of Open Kamera - the one who asks the real questions and knows how to hold the silence that follows.

    Her work lives in the in-between: between art and care, language and silence, documentation and dreaming. Holding a diploma in PhotoTherapy, she integrates therapeutic tools into analogue practices, making space for deep emotional reflection, collective storytelling, and creativity.

    Born in Poland and based in the UK, her practice is deeply shaped by migration, memory, and a longing for belonging. She has worked internationally, across libraries, community hubs, refugee groups and schools, always drawn to the question: what kind of image could help you feel seen, just as you are?

    Her sessions often feel like a mix of creative play, therapy, and quiet revolution, grounded in analogue processes and slow, mindful practice.

    “Photography doesn’t heal you - but it can give you back to yourself.”

    As an educator, she brings this same ethos into academic and institutional spaces - gently challenging conventional approaches to creativity, and reminding students that their lived experience is enough. Her work is less about mastery and more about meaning. Less product, more process. Less polish, more truth.

    Her analogue RAW portrait sessions - often shot on medium format film, have become a space where people can return to themselves. They’re raw, intimate, and defiantly anti-perfectionist.

    As co-director of Open Kamera CIC, Kinga co-designs creative experiences that centre belonging, identity, and collective authorship. She believes that art doesn’t need to be explained - it needs to be felt - and that everyone has a story worth slowing down for.

  • Co-founder of Open Kamera CIC / artist / technician / the guy who makes it all possible

    “For me, it’s not about taking the perfect photo. It’s about showing someone that they can build something with their own hands. That they can make something from light. That’s where the confidence begins.”

    Maciej is the quiet engine behind Open Kamera - the one who makes things work, often quite literally. Whether it’s building a darkroom from scratch (he once converted a broom cupboard at his secondary school into a fully functioning one), or mapping out the logistics of a community project - Maciej is the one you call when the idea is big and the deadline is near.

    With a background in fine art and design, he’s always been drawn to the behind-the-scenes: the tools, the textures, the problem-solving. His work is deeply rooted in process - analogue printing, camera mechanics, visual systems; and driven by a quiet but relentless curiosity about how things really work.

    “I’m not that interested in the final image if I don’t know how it was made.”

    But Maciej isn’t just the tech guy. He’s a natural collaborator and a generous listener - someone who sees potential in unlikely places and believes deeply in accessible, community-rooted creativity. As a co-director of Open Kamera, he works with young people, artists and educators to build experiences that are hands-on, human, and empowering.

    And then there’s the bin selfie - a long-running photographic project that became a signature workshop at OPEN KAMERA, it all started during his art uni days and hasn’t stopped since. It’s exactly what it sounds like: Maciej, taking a selfie with a bin/or using bin to create a portrait of others. Poetic? Maybe. Conceptual? Definitely. A little ridiculous? Of course. But like most of his work, it’s consistent, quietly clever, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

    “If you can’t laugh at your own practice, it’s probably not honest enough.”

    Maciej believes in learning by doing, fixing what’s broken, and leaving room for imperfection.

Portfolio of recent workshops

We run analogue workshops that slow things down. We use traditional processes, film cameras, creative journaling, and collaborative methods to support confidence, connection, and self-expression.

  • 2025 - 6 weeks analogue photography workshops with Your Future cohort (part of On Course South West)

  • 2025 - Youth and Family workshop for Cornwall Neighbourhoods For Change (CN4C) in Redruth2024 - 3 weeks analogue

  • 2024 - 3 weeks family analogue photography workshops - Launceston Library; “Launceston Dream” photography project in Launceston Library2024

  • 2024 - Online workshop - “Foto-Grafika 101” - analogue online photography workshops (5-weeks online)

  • 2024 - 6 weeks analogue wellbeing and mindfulness workshops with Ukrainian Youth - St. Austell - Arts Well CIC

  • 2023 - Visiting lecturing workshop - Arts University Plymouth - PERSPECTIVES - All day analogue photography as a tool to reflect, observe and play.

  • 2023 - Visiting lecturing workshop at PANS Głogów, Poland - /analogue photography as a tool/

  • 2023 - Residency at /VACANCY ATLAS/ Plymouth, UK - Family Photography Festival

  • 2022 - /PeArspectives/ analogue photography workshop in Kraków & Gdańsk, Poland

“Art has played a role in my life as long as I can remember. Through life, I have been keenly sensitive to the visual world. For me, it comes naturally to "see" the world on a level foreign to most. This visual sensitivity shapes how I interact with my surroundings and, ultimately, how I engage with community work.

In essence, my approach to community photography embodies the sentiment that community work is slow, and that’s the point. It’s not about output. It’s about offering presence, over and over again, until someone starts to believe they matter. This belief is the foundation of creating authentic connections through art.

When I wield my camera, I remind myself that the image of a community is not merely a collection of faces but rather a portrayal of shared experiences and stories. Each photograph I take reflects the intricate layers of emotions and relationships within a community. Through the lens, I strive to encapsulate not just moments but the very essence of what it means to belong.

In this way, art becomes a bridge, illustrating the diverse narratives that often go unnoticed. It highlights the importance of patience and presence, emphasising that the beauty of community lies in the small, seemingly insignificant details that over time create a tapestry of shared identity. That's the real image I strive to capture - a vibrant reflection of humanity that fosters belief, connection, and understanding.”

Kinga