Jansen Art Center Launches the Center for Lens Arts at The J

The Jansen Art Center immediately introduced the launch of the Center for Lens Arts at The J, a professionally geared up darkroom and pictures studio opening in early 2026. The Center shall be one of many few publicly accessible darkrooms in Washington state and a brand new inventive gateway for photographers all through the Pacific Northwest.

The Center for Lens Arts is a neighborhood studio empowering photographers of all backgrounds to discover the total spectrum of lens arts, from darkroom to digital, by means of instructional excellence, world-class amenities, and scholarship alternatives that guarantee price is rarely a barrier to participation.

The new studio advances The J’s strategic targets to increase high-quality arts programming, strengthen neighborhood engagement, and improve the area’s popularity as a cultural tourism vacation spot. Fully donor-funded at launch, the Center will present foundational lessons, open-studio entry, digital-negative workflows, superior workshops, and alternatives to study from nationally acknowledged photographers. Soft-launch programming begins this winter, with full rollout in February 2026.

Three lead artists, Jay Tyrrell, Allen Sanders, and Doug Ethridge, formed the Center’s growth, bringing mixed a long time of instructing, darkroom design, and artistic innovation. Their imaginative and prescient honors the tactile craft of analog processes and the inventive prospects of digital pictures, whereas fostering innovation by means of hybrid methods that bridge each worlds.

The opening responds to renewed nationwide curiosity in movie pictures and rising demand for neighborhood darkrooms amid restricted entry throughout Washington. The Center affords world-class tools, skilled instruction, and a supportive, cross-disciplinary inventive neighborhood.

“It’s thrilling to supply one thing uncommon in our area: a spot the place folks can uncover, return to, or advance their photographic craft in a supportive setting,” said Jansen Art Center Executive Director Cluny Madison. “The Center for Lens Arts at The J will open new pathways for creativity, belonging, and creative development.”

About the Jansen Art Center

The Jansen Art Center gives world-class amenities, skilled instruction, and a welcoming neighborhood the place folks of all ages can meet, study, and create. Located in Lynden, WA, The J affords studios in ceramics, textiles, jewellery, portray, music, and lens-based arts, alongside year-round exhibitions and performances.