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Espen Eichhöfer is represented with two photographic works with autobiographical references taken in Norway in the anniversary exhibition "Documentary Photography Wüstenrot Foundation Awards revisited: Origin, Family Life" at the Museum für Photographie Braunschweig. He was one of the winners of the 04/2001 prize.

For three decades, the Wüstenrot Foundation's Documentary Photography Award has been one of the most important awards for conceptual documentary photography in Germany, focusing on socially relevant topics. This year, four former award winners from different years will be presented in a joint exhibition with their themes on aspects of origin and family life, which they have continuously pursued since receiving the award. In addition to Espen Eichhöfer, Verena Jaekel, Birte Kaufmann and Maziar Morbid are represented in the exhibition curated by Barbara Hofmann-Johnson.

Opening: 3.5.24, 7pm

Duration: 4.5. to 30.6.24

Further information here.

In the three-day exhibition "Erschütterung", 17 positions from the Lette Verein's teaching staff will be presented in the project space at Kunstquartier Bethanien. Stephanie Steinkopf, a teacher at the Lette Verein Berlin since 2021, is represented in the exhibition with her series "Virpi". Between 2014 and 2018, Stephanie Steinkopf accompanied the eponymous Finnish woman Virpi several times over longer periods of time in her everyday life on a small island off Helsinki in Finland. In a previous life, Virpi was once a successful entrepreneur who worked so much for many years that she suffered a burnout and fell into depression.

A work by Paula Winkler, created in collaboration with Sibylle Fendt, will also be shown.

Opening: 26.4.24, 7 to 10pm

The exhibition is open on 27 and 28.4.24 from 2 to 8pm.

Further information here.

The exhibition "Two wheels, one world" shows 25 photographs by 14 OSTKREUZ photographers that focus on the motorcycle as a pictorial motif. These photographs have been taken over the last 40 years in a total of 12 countries and on 5 continents.

Based on the history of Zschopau in the Ore Mountains and its reputation as a "motorcycle town", OSTKREUZ has conceived this exhibition for the municipal museum at Wildeck Castle and compiled a representative selection of photographs from the agency's image archive. Both black and white and color photographs by Sibylle Bergemann, Jörg Brüggemann, Emile Ducke, Espen Eichhöfer, Sibylle Fendt, Johanna-Maria Fritz, Harald Hauswald, Tobias Kruse, Ute Mahler, Dawin Meckel, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Ina Schoenenburg, Maurice Weiss and Sebastian Wells are represented in the exhibition.

Opening: 25.4.24

Duration: 1.5. to 31.12.24

Further information here.

The Einstein Forum in Potsdam is showing Linn Schröder's series "I also think family pictures". In this series, she approaches the subject of childhood by pursuing memories from her own family memory and capturing them in photographs. For example, Linn Schröder travels to Poland with her twin daughters and follows the traces of her mother-in-law's escape during the Second World War, who was a little girl at the time. This creates a connection between three generations, the grandmother, the mother and the daughters.

The exhibition is being held in conjunction with the workshop "Konjunktur der Kindheit. Forays through contemporary German-language literature" on May 23 at the Einstein Forum.

On the same evening there will be an artist talk between Ingo Taubhorn, curator of the exhibition "Family Affairs", and Linn Schröder as part of the exhibition.

Duration: 25.4. to 8.7.24

Artist talk: 23.5.24, 7pm

Further information here.

Together with Spiegel author Christoph Reuter, Johanna-Maria Fritz was also awarded the Hansel-Mieth Prize for her report "Die letzten Bestatter von Bachmut". It tells the story of employees of the municipal funeral home who persevere in Bachmut and try to recover and bury the dead of the dying town.

The jury writes: "A piece that stays in the memory for a long time, a real reportage team effort: images and texts play together. A story that tells in miniature the perseverance of the people of Bachmut, the everyday madness of the siege." The award ceremony will take place on June 19 at 7pm in Fellbach, the keynote speaker will be Anette Dowideit from Correctiv.

Further information here.

We are delighted that Johanna-Maria Fritz has been awarded this year's World Press Photo Award in the "Stories" category for Europe!

On assignment for ZEIT, she photographed the effects of the explosions of the Russian-controlled Kakhovka Dam in southeastern Ukraine on June 6, 2023 and their impact on the city of Kherson and its inhabitants. The dam burst flooded around 17,500 homes on both the Ukrainian-controlled west bank and the Russian-controlled east bank of the river, killing hundreds of people, according to international media reports. Ukraine subsequently investigated the destruction and began filing charges of genocide against Russia at the International Criminal Court.

Johanna-Maria Fritz's series "Kakhovka Dam: Flood in a War Zone" comprises 10 impressive photographs taken between June 7 and 9, 2023. These will be on display as part of the World Press Photo 2024 Exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.

Duration: 19.4. to 14.7.24

Further information here.

Until the end of May, the Kunsthalle Erfurt is showing the exhibition "On Strange Days Across Rivers to Cities and Villages to the End of the World“ by Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler and Ludwig Schirmer. As part of the exhibition, an artist talk with the photographer couple will take place on April 19, moderated by Prof. Dr. Kai Uwe Schierz (Director Kunstmuseen Erfurt) and Susanne Knorr (Curator Kunsthalle Erfurt).

To accompany the exhibition, the Mahlers have published the wonderful book "Ein Dorf 1950-2022" by Hartmann Books, which presents photographs by Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler and Ludwig Schirmer. Three photographers from one family have photographed the village of Berka in Thuringia over a period of more than 70 years. This is an unusual project, the result of several coincidences, which tells us a lot about this land, the village, its people and how things have developed.

The book "Ein Dorf" can be purchased from the publisher Hartmann Books for 68€. In addition to 252 illustrations, it contains texts by Jenny Erpenbeck, Anja Maier, Steffen Mau and Gary Van Zante. It was designed by Florian Lamm, Leipzig.

Artist talk: 19.4.24, 6.30pm

Duration of the exhibition: until 26.5.24

Here you can order "Ein Dorf 1950-2022" at Hartmann Books.

Further information here.

The Hamburger Werkstatt für Fotografie is showing Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler's long-term project "Kleinstadt", which they realized together from 2015.

For this project, the Mahlers traveled through Germany in a small car with a large camera and a stock of black-and-white flat films in search of images that document the atmosphere, attitude and life - in other words, the spirit - of small towns. Her striking shots freeze time and place and capture the idea of a small town in a kaleidoscope of images. The future of such towns will be decided in the next few years. Young people are the future - if they leave, small towns will die.

Linn Schröder (OSTKREUZ photographer and professor of photography at HAW Hamburg) will talk to the Mahlers about their photographic work as part of an artist talk.

Opening: 18.4.24, 6.30pm

Artist talk: 25.4.24, 7 pm

Duration: 19.4. until 27.6.24

Further information here.

In the exhibition "KONSTANTE B mit SILBERBLICK", the Inselgalerie Berlin is showing portrait photographs of East German artists by Sibylle Fendt. In addition to the portraits of the artists Tina Bara, Petra Flierl, Sabina Grzimek, Heidrun Hegewald, Sabine Herrmann, Carin Kreuzberg, Helga Paris, Barbara Raetsch and Erika Stürmer-Alex, works from the Beskow Art Archive as well as current works by these artists are on display. 
The portraits of the painters, graphic artists, sculptors and photographers were taken by Sibylle Fendt in their studios and immediate surroundings. 

In an accompanying event, Sibylle Fendt and Angelika Weißbach will talk about art from the GDR and contemporary positions in the Kunstarchiv Beeskow / Museum Utopie und Alltag. 

Artist talk: 13.2.24, 7 pm

Duration: until 16.3.24

Further information here.

Together with Amnesty International and the Ukrainian human rights activist and photographer Oleksandra Bienert, OSTKREUZ has developed a photo exhibition that provides insights into the everyday lives of people in Ukraine, which has been marked by war for two years, and asks: What is life like for people in Ukraine in the midst of this ongoing Russian war of aggression? How do people organize their everyday lives despite the great dangers? How do they try to preserve hope and a bit of normality?
The OSTKREUZ photographers Emile Ducke, Johanna-Maria Fritz and Sebastian Wells, who works together with the Ukrainian photographer Vsevolod Kazarin, have been to Ukraine several times independently of each other. Their images are complemented by facts that Amnesty International has researched on the ground in recent years, including the most serious human rights violations and war crimes.

The exhibition is on display in the foyer of the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Center of the Humboldt University Library in Berlin and is freely accessible during opening hours.

Opening: 22.2.24, 17:30 to 18:30

Duration: 23.2. to 22.3.24

Further information here.

Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler's works are characterized by a humanistic view of the world, they are committed to realism and at the same time characterized by strong subjective moments.
In the exhibition "An seltsamen Tagen über Flüsse in die Städte und Dörfer bis ans Ende der Welt", the Kunsthalle Erfurt is showing a selection from the series of works the Mahlers have produced together since 2008, including the comprehensive work entitled "An den Strömen", for which they have been photographing since 2019. 
"A Village", a group of works comprising four series created over a period of 70 years in Berka, Thuringia, forms another focal point of the exhibition. Ludwig Schirmer worked as a miller in the 1950s, and in his free time he photographed his village of Berka, the people, the celebrations and everyday life. His pictures were only discovered in his estate in 2001. Werner Mahler made Berka the subject of his diploma thesis in the 1970s. Twenty years later, he was commissioned by Stern magazine to do a report on the village. Ute Mahler, the daughter of Ludwig Schirmer, was born in Berka. She photographed the place of her childhood in 2021/2022. 

Opening: 2.3.24, 6 pm

Duration: 3.3. until 26.5.24 

Further information here.

The photographic book and exhibition project "A Village" illustrates
aspects of time and change. The focus is on the village of Berka in
Thuringia, which was photographed by two generations of one family over a period of 70 years: Ludwig Schirmer (1950-1960), Werner Mahler (1977/78 and 1998) and Ute Mahler (2021/22). The book presentation also provides a preview of the exhibition planned for spring 2025 at the Akademie der Künste as part of the European Month of Photography (EMOP).

The book "Ein Dorf" is published by Hartmann Books with texts by Jenny Erpenbeck, Anja Maier, Steffen Mau and Gary Van Zante. It was designed by Lamm & Kirch, Berlin/Leipzig.

In Berlin, the publication will be presented for the first time at the Akademie der Künste am Pariser Platz with a discussion with Ute Mahler, Jenny Erpenbeck and Steffen Mau, moderated by curator Maren Lübbke-Tidow.

Book presentation: 5.3.24, 7 pm

Admission: 6 €, reduced 4 €

Further information here.

The filmmakers Sabine Michel and Dörte Grimm have collaborated with OSTKREUZ photographer Ina Schoenenburg for their joint book "Es ist einmal. East German grandparents and their grandchildren in conversation", together with OSTKREUZ photographer Ina Schoenenburg. Together they are presenting the book at the "Literatur LIVE" event at the Pfefferberg Theater.

To this day, many East German families do not speak openly about life in the GDR. In these conversations between grandparents and their grandchildren born after 1982, which were written for this book, not only do the most diverse imprints and value systems collide, but also literally the future and the past. These stirring encounters are exemplary of how a dialog between the generations can be set in motion, and at the same time help us to understand current political developments in East Germany differently and better.

Book presentation: 7.3.24, 10 a.m.

Further information here.

With his photo project "Typ / Traube / Tross", which will be shown in the project space at Haus am Kleistpark in Schöneberg, OSTKREUZ photographer Sebastian Wells visually examines why young people support nationalism, here exemplified in Flanders.
In portraits of uniformed members of a nationalist student fraternity, in an examination of illustrated books from the Nazi era and the collective memory of passers-by, he analyzes the identity construct of right-wing extremists and their ideas of community. Sebastian Wells sees his role as that of an archaeologist, as his images create a visual environment in which the past inseparably intersects with the present. 

Opening: 14.3.24, 7 pm

Duration: 15.3. to 19.5.24

Further information here.

Together with a team of artists from Ukraine and Germany, Sebastian Wells has co-designed the third issue of the English-language magazine Solomiya, which is dedicated to the Ukrainian art and culture scene. The magazine also features an extensive piece about Ukrainians in Berlin, for which Wells photographed and wrote. Sebastian Wells edits the magazine together with Ivanna Kozachenko, Andrii Ushytskyi and Vsevolod Kazarin, while Peter Bünnagel and Anne-Lene Proff from the Scrollan collective are responsible for the art direction. The magazine will be published in March 2024 by SHIFT BOOKS and is supported by the Klaus-Stemmler-Stiftung. 

You can pre-order an issue of the magazine here.

The ARTE program "Twist" talks to artists about the role and potential of friendship. A connection that is based on voluntariness, "untamed", without a legal framework. What does friendship mean? Support, anchor, inspiration or simply love? Is friendship underestimated by society? And what does it mean to work together with a friend? How do we deal with feelings of competition? 
These questions are also on the minds of OSTKREUZ photographers Tobias Kruse and Jörg Brüggemann, who have explored their friendship in a photo project. What role do their East-West biographies play in this? And how much contrast can friendship withstand? 

Watch the complete program here.

We are pleased to announce that Espen Eichhöfer was recently selected for the Norwegian Journal of Photography artist program of the Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation. This enables him to work on his new project "OsloShow", which explores the country's oil and gas-based wealth and its impact on the youth of Norway today. The results of the artist program, which also involves nine Norwegian photographers, will be presented in a group exhibition in Oslo in 2025.

Further information here.

Our co-founders Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler were awarded the 2023 Culture Prize of the German Photographic Society (DGPh) last Saturday!

In his speech at the award ceremony in Potsdam's Museum Barberini, DGPh Chairman Michael Biedowicz said that Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler were "two outstanding German photographers who, in the GDR era as well as today, realize their own and unadapted view of the world in different, intensive photo projects".

The Culture Prize is awarded annually as the highest award of the German Photographic Society. According to the DGPh's foundation charter, the Culture Prize honors "...significant achievements made with the help of photography, especially in the artistic, humanitarian, charitable, social, technical, educational or scientific fields."

We are very pleased and congratulate on this special award!

Photo: Tobias Kruse

The Robert Morat Galerie on Linienstrasse in Berlin-Mitte is showing works from Linn Schröder's long-term project "Ich denke auch Familienbilder" (I also think family pictures). This project deals with one of the most fundamental tasks of photography, the capturing of memories.

Family pictures are photographs that on the one hand function as a reminder and on the other hand can often even create memories. But they can also be mental images that are created through stories and one's own imagination. Linn Schröder combines these aspects in a poetic way and creates visual worlds that, in their surreal, magical, and often staged imagery, tell of astonishment, uncertainty and perhaps also of unease.

Opening: 27.10.23, 6 to 9 p.m. in the presence of the photographer

Duration: 28.10. until 21.12.23

Further information here.

Johanna-Maria Fritz's work "A Grave in the Garden", made in Ukraine, is part of the shortlist exhibition of the Leica Oscar Barnack Award 2023, currently on show at Leica Welt in Wetzlar.

Since the start of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Johanna-Maria Fritz has repeatedly travelled to the dangerous areas of the country, photographing the happenings and consequences of the ongoing conflict. Her moving reportage gives a direct insight into the everyday lives of the people who struggle to survive every day.

Duration: until 31.1.23

Further information here.