Our Story
Urbana Museum of Photography is located in what was once The Urbana Courier Newspaper. One of the few original darkrooms left in the country, we feel honored to carry on the magic of analog photography in such a historic location.
Originally founded as the Champaign County Herald in 1877, this building was home to the local newspaper until 1979. From 1979-2017, the darkroom was locked up and not in use. In 2017, UMoP founder Lyosha Svinarski unlocked the darkroom and brought it back to life.
The Courier in the mid-1900s. Exact year unknown. UMoP is located upstairs, accessible by the staircase shown on the right.
Founded in 2012, Urbana Museum of Photography emphasizes history and techniques of analog photography. Active as a small institution, the Museum offers classes, workshops, lectures and exhibitions. Our model combines 4 aspects: Gallery, Darkroom, Photo Lab, and Classroom.
Gallery
Our focus is to represent local photographers working in analog photography. We are on a journey to discover forgotten artists and undiscovered talent who work(ed) and live(d) in Central Illinois.
Over the years of the Museum's existence, we have represented numerous national and international artists. In the past, we have hosted works by artists from Italy, China, Russia, Portugal, and more, but have primarily kept our attention on local photographers and emerging talents. The Gallery also showcases works from our own students of the Photo Classroom and our workshops.
Darkroom
The fully equipped analog facility is located in the space of the former Urbana Courier Newspaper and is a sanctuary for our analog followers. Along with developing, we specialize in the printing process. The final print is the “last step” - where all things come together in harmony: artistic vision, technical skill, and intuition. It is this crucial part that plays a major role and is our primary focus of our classroom sessions.
Photo Lab
With the recent popularity of film / analog photography amongst the younger generation, our Photo Lab is devoted and equipped to satisfy this demand for film processing, analog printing, and scanning services. Specific services can be found in the “Our Services” section of this website.
Classroom
The faster and further our progress takes us - the greater the distance between "Tradition" and "Avant-Garde.” It is more noticeable in photography - where the aesthetics are still in comparison - hence it is important not to forget where photography came from.
History of photography is the history of people and the history of photographic techniques is the history of our progress as a humanity. That is what the photo class is for; to learn and to educate.
