Reactivating The Camera

For my Capstone 2 project, I collaborated with a small coastal village in Greenport, NY to address the decline of a rare historic structure: the Greenport Camera Obscura. Once a public attraction, the Camera had become non-operational, underfunded, and largely forgotten.

Our team created a low-cost, replicable activation kit designed to restore visibility, encourage volunteer participation, and build community support for its future. Through tools like a portable demo model, flip-through educational booklets, and volunteer recruitment materials, we reintroduced the Camera to the public and offered a tangible way to measure community interest.

By linking grassroots engagement with strategic communication, our proposal not only tackled operational gaps but also provided the Village Board with proof of renewed local value—setting the stage for future investment and care.