Crowd funding is becoming increasingly popular among creatives. With more site springing up and more artists asking for funds, Don’t Take Pictures spotlights projects that benefit the arts community.

This month’s crowd funding roundup presents a fully-equipped darkroom and processing studio in Portland, Oregon.

The Portland Darkroom

This past July, Newspace Center for Photography closed its doors and left many photographers without a place to produce their work. Its sudden shuttering left a hole in the Portland photography community and created concern for the future of community darkrooms across the country. A group of former Newspace photographers quickly sprung into action to obtain darkroom equipment and locate a new facility that will become The Portland Darkroom. In the last three months, these volunteers have secured a facility in the North Coast Seed Building that includes a fully-equipped film processing area, an eight-enlarger darkroom, and a four-scanner digital lab. For a monthly membership, Portland-area photographers can have around-the-clock access to darkroom facilities. Beginning this month, Community Darkroom Nights will be held every Wednesday night during which the facilities will be open to anyone to rent.

The Portland Darkroom crew has already come a long way in making their dream a reality and have set a very reasonable fundraising goal of $12,000 to finish the construction, add more equipment, and set aside funds for programming including lectures, classes, and residencies.

Read more about The Portland Darkroom on their Kickstarter page.

There are 11 days left to fund this project.

Do you know of a crowd funding project that benefits the art community? Let us know at info@donttakepictures.com