06-10-2020. -Autumn has already arrived in Berlin and after an intense summer with various cultural activities the cultural panorama continues. On October 1st, the European Month of Photography, EMOP BERLIN 2020, started with plenty of activities and expositions related to photography. Around 103 galleries, museums, cultural institutes and photo agencies are participating at this initiative. EMOP is a network of Photography Festivals in different European cities. Some of its members are: EMOPLUX (Luxemburg), EMOP BERLIN (Berlin), FOTO WIEN (Vienna), IMAGO LISBOA (Lisbon), CIRCULATION(S) FESTIVAL (Paris). The project aims to promote cooperation within the European Union by supporting young artists in order to strengthen the international photography scene. The EMOP Berlin takes place every two years since 2004, this is the 9th edition of Germany’s largest photography festival and it will take place from the 1st to the 31st of October with more than 114 exhibition projects form 500 photographers plus a wide variety of event formats in Berlin and Potsdam. The objective of this festival is to present the diversity of photographs styles - from artistic works and historical photographs to documentary and politically motivated photography - throughout Berlin in museums, galleries, cultural institutions, embassies, off- spaces, project spaces, and photography schools, etc. The program also includes lectures and discussions with internationally renowned photographers, talks with photographers from OSTKREUZ, and a curated film series dedicated to the photo film genre.
This year the main theme will be presented through the exhibition called “CONTINENT, In Search of Europe by OSTKREUZ, the Agentur der Fotografen & Akademie der Künste, which is also taken up in various projects at partner venues around the city. Some of the topics presented through the exhibitions are: identity and security, renationalization, migration and integration, democracy and freedom of opinion, etc. The multifaceted perspectives are photographed from very personal point of views, which invite us to reflect on the future of Europe. For more information, see www.ostkreuz.de/kontinent.
2020: EMOP Berlin exhibition highlights
1.- Ruth & Lotte Jacobi at Willy Brandt House
The photographic work of two sisters from one of the oldest photographer families in pre-war Germany. Lotte Jacobi became famous as a proponent of the Neue Fotografie (New Photography) movement in the 1920s with her portraits of Albert Einstein, Käthe Kollwitz, Lotte Lenya, and Klaus and Erika Mann, among others. But her sister Ruth Jacobi’s works are still largely unknown today; these include portraits, still lifes, reportage, travel, plant, and experimental photography.
Ruth Jacobi, Spaziergängerin mit Gans, New York, 1928, © Jüdisches Museum Berlin,
Courtesy: Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus.
2.- Paris by Foot at argus fotokunst
The East German photographer, Roger Melis, was allowed to travel to the city on the Seine in 1982. During his daily walks through Paris he engaged with famous photographs of this city of dreams. His street photography depicts scenes from everyday Parisian life, presenting a highly personal portrait of Paris. The resulting book became a cult favorite.
Roger Melis, Avenue Foch, a.d.S. Paris zu Fuß, 1982, © Nachlass Roger Melis / Mathias
Bertram, Courtesy: argus fotokunst.
3.- Masculinity: Liberation through Photography at Gropius Bau
At a time when traditional notions of manhood are being challenged and concepts such as “toxic” and “fragile” masculinity are shaping social discourses. 300 works by 50 international artists offer a panorama of the cinematic and photographic examination of masculinity in all its contradictions and complexity. These include works by Laurie Anderson, Richard Avedon, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Peter Hujar, Isaac Julien, Annette Messager, and Catherine Opie.
Peter Hujar, David Brintzenhofe Applying Makeup (II), 1982, © 1987 The Peter Hujar
Archive LLC, Courtesy: Gropius Bau
4.- Blind photographers at f³ – freiraum für fotografie
Four photographers who went blind – Susanne Emmermann, Mary Hartwig, Silja Korn, and Gerald Pirner – deal with the impossible: seeing. Working with the technique of light painting, they use different light sources in completely darkened rooms to illuminate details within an image.
Susanne Emmermann, o.T., 2017, © Susanne Emmermann / Courtesy: f³ – freiraum für
fotografie.
Letizia Battaglia: Das Mädchen und die Dunkelheit, 1980 © Letizia Battaglia
Andreas Mühe, Biorobot II, 2020, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy: St. Matthäus-Kirche
For the 2020 full program visit: emop-berlin.eu
Source: EMOP Berlin 2020
Comments