In collaboration with artist Dietmar Busse and Amant’s neighbor Brooklyn Film Camera, this workshop invites participants to encounter our surrounding community through the Polaroid lens.

Together with Dietmar and the exhibition curator, participants will begin by visiting Fairytales 1991-1999 at Amant, Dietmar’s exhibition tells the stories of his experiences photographing New Yorkers in the 1990s. Using his Polaroid camera, Dietmar facilitated both spontaneous, street-level conversations and staged provocative scenes, resulting in portraits that capture more than a static image—they revealed a shared moment of connection.

In the workshop, participants will learn the tactile pleasure of handling a Polaroid camera and embark on a neighborhood walk through Bushwick, where they will take their own photographs. After the excursion, discussions will explore the unique qualities of working with instant photography—the way it distorts rules of time and space, its immediacy, and its relation to the specificity of place and the people who inhabit it. This workshop is not just about capturing images, but about understanding photography as a mode of engagement, a way to pause and reflect on the layers of everyday life.

Bushwick Polaroid Safari is free and open to all with any level of photography experience, we especially welcome folks with no experience. Participants ages 12 and under must be accompanied by parent. Brooklyn Film Camera will provide Polaroid cameras and film. There is a maximum capacity of 10 people, and if you would like to attend, email curatorial@amant.org briefly explaining why you would like to participate, please use “Polaroid Workshop” as email subject.