"For the last 5 years drkrm/lab/gallery has presented a superb and continuous array of exceptional exhibits, specializing in more under-the-radar, counterculture presentations. As owner/curator John Matkowsky was never afraid of unspoken issues; some shows were immensely stimulating while profoundly poignant, others were compelling, powerful, heart-rending, and even transforming in their relevance."

Drkrm's art-space crowdfunding project, drkrm gallery redux, is the next step for this cutting-edge institution. The project offers some of the coolest and most valuable rewards we've seen and gives Fuelers the ability to make a positive impact on a whole artistic community. We had a chance to chat about the gallery/lab and the campaign with John.

What was the inspiration behind the art/business project you are currently running on RocketHub?  Why is it important to you and to your team?

As technological advances make digital photography the norm, the fine art of printing in a darkroom is fast becoming a thing of the past. Our drkrm remains one of the last exclusively black & white labs dedicated to the highest quality of hand film processing and fine, traditional, silver-gelatin printing. Printing from original negatives is becoming a lost art. We at drkrm feel it’s important to preserve this vanishing skill and offer it to established photographers as well as emerging visual artists.

Of course, our lab is not mired in antiquity and will be offering all forms of color and digital processing as well. But the distinct, museum-quality, coffee table-art book excellence is what drives the drkrm philosophy. In fact, we love the combination of old and new technology. And, more succinctly, we are great at what we do. If you have a problem with exposure, cropping, focal points, or whatever, we will improve and pull out the best possible result from your work. Colloquially expressed, we will make your shit shine! drkrm’s new space will offer seminars and workshops for the local community interested in this “lost art” as well as one of the few gallery spaces dedicated to exhibiting documentary and photo-journalistic work, cutting edge and alternative photographic processes and the display and survey of popular, cultural images, both current or historic.

That's awesome - I love the empowering combination of old and new in photography. How has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the gallery world - how are your fans responding?

We had a slow start because we weren’t completely sure how to proceed. Many supporters of drkrm emailed us to find out exactly HOW to contribute, believing it was more difficult than it was. This is the first time we have tried crowdfunding to relaunch our business. We were hoping our incentives would be powerful enough to inspire others to contribute. Now we have some momentum and we believe we will reach our $20,000 goal.

We’ve added an additional category for those that are more on the collecting or art appreciation side of the business. We have a series of amazing exhibition posters that are signed by the artists that created them. They are being rewarded for only a $65 contribution. They are limited editions, which makes them instantly valuable. And they are quite beautiful. We might have had stronger initial responses from non-photographers or drkrm fans had we put these up sooner.

You're right - a strong start is important but it seems that drkrm has made great progress. Any other advice for Creatives looking to crowdfund a project?

We would strongly suggest doing your homework first. Get excited about what you are doing as enthusiasm is contagious. Make sure you have viable and wanted incentives. And, with all the knowledge available to you, be ready to blast off right from the start. We started very slow and sort of worked it out as we went along, which didn’t give us a lot of initial momentum. Also, make sure your time frame is realistic. Then add another week or two, just in case.

Good luck!

Thanks for these honest insights on your work and crowdfunding campaign thus far. We appreciate having you in our creative community and anyone interested in very cool artistic rewards should check out drkrm gallery redux.

-Vlad