Fotohane DARKROOM is a non-profit organization and analog photography project that works with local and migrant children in southeastern Turkey, close to the border regions with Syria and Iraq.
Our mission is to provide a safe and creative environment where children from diverse backgrounds can come together, build friendships, and develop mutual understanding through the mediums of storytelling and photography.
By documenting their daily lives and experiences, youth reclaim their narratives and find healing through self-expression.
We believe in the power of photography and the arts to bring hope and beauty into the lives of children and youth. As a pedagogical tool, image making encourages playful exploration, fosters new ways of thinking, and can create hope and resilience amidst challenging circumstances.
Fotohane means “house of photo” in Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, and Persian. It was chosen as our name by children involved in the project.
At Fotohane, we strongly believe in children’s self-determination and participation. We invite children to decide how their images are created, printed, and shared, and their feedback is continually incorporated into the running of our program.
Workshops
Fotohane’s workshops typically run over several weeks, combining hands-on creative exercises and darkroom sessions that introduce children to the full analog photographic process.
Fotohane DARKROOM has been selected as one of the Sabancı Foundation’s 2026 Türkiye’s Changemakers.
Since 2009, the Sabancı Foundation has recognized the work of Changemakers across Turkey who strive to solve the problems they encounter in their living environments and move towards positive societal change.
Fotohane DARKROOM has been selected as one of their Türkiye’s Changemakers for the 17th season of the program, in celebration of our community workshops that creatively empower children from local and migrant backgrounds.