The Slow Camera Exchange

The Slow Camera Exchange Ireland’s largest analogue camera collection. Curated and used by artist Hermann Marbe.

We aim to use analogue photography processes to encourage people to slow down and see the world through different lenses.

What a night!“Let Me Tell You Something” was more than an event. It was a moment where images became stories, and voices...
18/03/2026

What a night!

“Let Me Tell You Something” was more than an event. It was a moment where images became stories, and voices gave new life to the archive.

To everyone who stepped on stage and shared their words: thank you for your courage.
To everyone who came, listened and felt: thank you for being part of something truly special.

What started as a simple invitation has grown into Focal Exchange, a collaboration between .archive and . Seeing it come to life in a room full of people, stories and connection meant everything to us.

A heartfelt thank you to and to everyone behind the scenes who helped bring this evening together.

From fragments… to stories. This is only the beginning. ✨

📸

OpenMic CorkCulture

It all started in 2025, when The Slow Camera Exchange invited Focal Archive, a UCC creative writing group, to explore He...
06/03/2026

It all started in 2025, when The Slow Camera Exchange invited Focal Archive, a UCC creative writing group, to explore Hermann Marbe’s photographic archive in our office. What began as a visit has grown into something more: Focal Exchange, a new partnership between the two initiatives. And now, the first project from this collaboration is about to be launched.

During The Living Archive exhibition last week, we shared a glimpse of the creative process behind it — scattered notes, early ideas, unfinished pieces. A reminder that creativity often begins with fragments.

Now those fragments have become stories.

They’ll be brought to life at “Let Me Tell You Something”, an open mic evening where writers will share the photographs that inspired their work — and the texts that grew from them. We can’t wait to hear them.

🎤 Join us for “Let Me Tell You Something” — an evening where images spark stories and words take the stage.

📍 Where: The Savoy, Cork
🗓 When: Wednesday evening

🚪 Doors open around 6:30 PM
🔒 Doors close shortly after 7 PM 

📝 Want to read on stage?
Send your chosen image to [email protected] to get your name on the list.

🎟 Want to be in the audience?
Get your ticket here:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/let-me-tell-you-something-tickets-1984329552107?aff=oddtdtcreator

⚠️ If you’re not reading, you will need a ticket to enter.

archive

Still thinking about The Living Archive Exhibition 🥰A moment we’re keeping forever in our feed and in our hearts.These i...
04/03/2026

Still thinking about The Living Archive Exhibition 🥰

A moment we’re keeping forever in our feed and in our hearts.

These incredible shots were captured by , our talented archivist intern and an amazing photographer. We’re so grateful to have every part of the exhibition documented through his lens.

Such a beautiful way to remember it all ❤️

You’re invited to step inside an archive that’s still alive.A Living Archive exhibition opens this Monday at MTU Gallery...
22/02/2026

You’re invited to step inside an archive that’s still alive.

A Living Archive exhibition opens this Monday at MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade, bringing together works by Crawford Supported Studio artists Tom O’Sullivan, Marie Sexton, and Mary Rose Marshall, in dialogue with the photographic archive of Hermann Marbe.

This exhibition marks the beginning of a new collaboration between The Slow Camera Exchange and Crawford Supported Studios, exploring memory, photography, and creative exchange through an archive that continues to move, respond, and evolve.

Here, photography isn’t something finished or fixed.
It’s material to work with. To respond to. To feel your way through.

🗓 Feb 24–26
🕙 10am–8pm
📍 MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade, Cork

Drop in for a moment, or come back and immerse yourself over all three days.

This archive is open to the public.

✨ Mark your calendars! The Opening Night of A Living Archive is TOMORROW ✨Join us for the opening of A Living Archive, a...
22/02/2026

✨ Mark your calendars! The Opening Night of A Living Archive is TOMORROW ✨

Join us for the opening of A Living Archive, a three-day exhibition exploring photography as something active, shared, and alive.

Built from the photographic archive of Hermann Marbe, the exhibition brings together artists, writers, and collaborators responding to his images through photography, text, painting, and curation.

Rather than a retrospective, this is an archive in motion, open to dialogue, participation, and new ways of seeing.

The opening session is a chance to experience the exhibition as it begins: meet the work, the ideas, and the people behind it!

We’re waiting for you 👇

🕕 Monday, 23 February · 6 PM
📍 MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade, Cork
🎟️ Open to all

Drop in for a moment, or come back and immerse yourself over all three days.

📸 A Living Archive — 3 Days To Explore A Nine-Section ExhibitionOver three days, A Living Archive unfolds through a seri...
20/02/2026

📸 A Living Archive — 3 Days To Explore A Nine-Section Exhibition

Over three days, A Living Archive unfolds through a series of responses and encounters, each one activating the photographic archive of Hermann Marbe in a different way.

From photographic dialogues and writers–image exchanges, to colour rediscoveries, painted interventions, and an interactive space where you become the curator, the exhibition invites you to move through the archive rather than simply observe it.

Each section presents a distinct perspective:
artists responding to images, writers working in process, collaborations across time, and rare works selected by Hermann himself.

🗓 Feb 24–26
🕙 10am–8pm
📍 MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade, Cork

Drop in for a moment, or come back and immerse yourself over all three days.
This archive is open to the public.

We’re beyond excited to share something special…A Living Archive Exhibition is here! 🎞️✨Bringing together Hermman’s powe...
19/02/2026

We’re beyond excited to share something special…A Living Archive Exhibition is here! 🎞️✨

Bringing together Hermman’s powerful photographic images with new responses from incredible artists— including Jess Marbe, Tom O’Sullivan, Marie Sexton, Mary Rose Marshall—and creative writers from the Focal Archive, this exhibition reimagines what an archive can be.

Because an archive shouldn’t sit still. It should breathe. It should move. It should invite you in.

Across nine unique sections, A Living Archive explores the idea of an active, evolving collection—and in one section, you become the curator, creating your own selection of Hermann’s images. How exciting is that?

Come and experience it for yourself at MTU Gallery, Grand Parade!

🕕 Opening Night: Monday 23/02 · 6 PM
🗓 Exhibition: Feb 24–26 · Tuesday–Thursday · 10 AM – 8 PM
📍 MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade

Still thinking about our recent workshop with Open Walls… We’re so grateful for the incredible engagement and energy sha...
01/02/2026

Still thinking about our recent workshop with Open Walls…

We’re so grateful for the incredible engagement and energy shared by everyone who joined us. ✨

Moments like these remind us why we do what we do: creating spaces to connect, slow down, and see the world differently through analogue photography.

📸 Interested in future events? Don’t miss out!

👉 Follow us here for updates and upcoming workshops.

ArtInCork TheLivingArchive CommunityThroughArt

These wonderful folks from The Retrospect Art Festival joined us for our most recent analogue photography workshop. ✨The...
27/01/2026

These wonderful folks from The Retrospect Art Festival joined us for our most recent analogue photography workshop. ✨

Their festival explores the theme of memory, and what better way than analogue photography to hold onto fleeting moments and capture time’s quiet echoes?

The spirals they drew during the session reflect a shared symbol: the continuous flow of memory and the ever-turning passage of time.

Retrospect is a Spring festival that invites us to slow down and look back. To understand, to reflect, to heal.

📍You can join them on March 31st at the Cork Opera House for a moment of calm before the storm of Spring.

SpringFestival CorkEvents CreativeConnections PhotographyWorkshop ArtInCork TheLivingArchive

✨ Slowing down. Looking closely. Creating together.Last week’s analogue photography workshop with Open Walls wasn’t just...
19/01/2026

✨ Slowing down. Looking closely. Creating together.

Last week’s analogue photography workshop with Open Walls wasn’t just about taking pictures. It was about seeing things differently and creating a sense of community with local artists and enthusiasts. Special thanks to Ryan for facilitating the workshop on behalf of the SCE team!

Each image in this carousel was made by participants: fragments of a shared experience, quiet gestures of presence and connection.

This is the beauty of analogue: not just the photo, but the process, the pause, and the people involved.

More workshops are on the way, and we’d love to create with you.

We’ll be sharing more beautiful results from this session soon!

📸 Stay tuned.

CreativeCork FilmPhotography CreateTogether

Join us for a special film screening of Scores from the Archive: a poetic short film created during the recent two-day w...
19/12/2025

Join us for a special film screening of Scores from the Archive: a poetic short film created during the recent two-day workshop led by Artem Trofimenko.

Through movement, writing, and embodied reflection, participants explored the Hermann Marbe Archive in new ways, translating still images into gestures, presence, and creative expression.

📽️ The final video will be screened in the library lobby. Come witness the result of this unique creative process!

🎞️ This Saturday at the Library!
🗓️ November 25 | 🕒 3–5 PM
📍 Cork City Library – Lobby
📌 Free & open to all.






FilmScreening
CommunityArts
CreativeEngagement
AnalogPhotography
TheLivingArchive

We’re opening applications for a Volunteer Internship with the Slow Camera Exchange: a hands-on archiving project in Cor...
10/12/2025

We’re opening applications for a Volunteer Internship with the Slow Camera Exchange: a hands-on archiving project in Cork City.

You’ll work with real analogue photographs taken between 2000–2018 by Hermann Marbe, helping to build a digital archive used for education, research and creative practice.

This project is all about contributing to culture, learning how digital archives work, and being part of an initiative with long-term impact.

✨ Open to students, creatives & curious minds
📍 Based in Cork City
🎓 Training provided — no previous archiving experience required
📅 January–June 2026 | Flexible schedule

👉 Apply by December 15th via the link in our bio.

Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
If you are interested in photography, memory and meaningful creative work, this is for you!

Address

Cork City Library
Cork

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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