Artist Meets
Archive #4
2024/25

The fourth edition of Artist Meets Archive was launched in early 2024 with a major innovation: for the first time, an open call was issued for the residency program in collaboration with the partnering institutions. As a result, five artists from Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Poland, and Spain were invited to Cologne. During the summer of 2024, Marta Bogdańska, Elena Efeoglou, Andrés Galeano, Pauline Hafsia M’barek, and Jimmi Wing Ka Ho spent several weeks in the city for their research residencies. During this time, they immersed themselves in the photographic collections of the Dombauarchiv, the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, Museum Ludwig, the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, and the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum. Through their engagements with Cologne’s rich photographic history and archival material(s), they developed new artistic projects.

As always, the results will be showcased during the Photoszene Festival, which opens on May 16, 2025. Save the date!

The five projects make it clear that archives are not only there to preserve stories. They also hold the potential to discover new ones. The individual exhibitions create their own photographic narratives from different perspectives and using a variety of artistic means. These reconstruct the biography of an unusual object in the collection, write alternative life stories for historical portraits and ask whether history can also be told from the perspective of animals. They make photography visible as a fragile, living material and trace the multi-layered memories of a city. In this way, the individual projects not only rewrite their respective source material, but also the history of the archive to a certain extent.

Each of the five institutions will be hosting Spot On events on the Opening days!

Artist Meets Archive at Photoszene-Festival 2025

AMA Meets UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

During the 2024/2025 winter semester, the seminar “Artist Meets Archive – Artists in the (Photo) Archive" was held at the Department of Art History at the University of Cologne, led by Dr. Franziska Brons. In this context, the students not only visited the participating institutions of Artist Meets Archive #4, but also had the opportunity to engage in conversations with the five artists. The interviews that resulted from these dialogues offer deep insights into their diverse working methods and the fascinating creative processes behind each exhibition.

Read the interviews

Artist Talks & Archive Tours

2024

In July and August 2024, the five selected artists of our Artist Meets Archive program spent their residencies in Cologne, delving into the photographic collections of the various institutions to develop their new works. Additionally, we offered the public the opportunity to meet the artists and institutions through a series of events:

Artist Talks

At the Dombauhütte, Elena Efeoglou, Andrés Galeano, and Pauline Hafsia M’barek gave fascinating insights into their work and shared their impressions of their individual encounters with each archive. At the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, Marta Bogdańska and Jimmi Wing Ka Ho engaged in a conversation with Helena Weber, discussing their specific approaches and discoveries within the respective collection.

Archive Tours

We had the chance to explore three extraordinary photographic collections together: At Museum Ludwig, Miriam Szwast led us through the depot, offering exclusive insights. With Lucia Halder, we immersed ourselves in the complex photographic holdings of the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum. Gabriele Conrath-Scholl and Claudia Schubert provided us with exciting glimpses into the archive of the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur.

About Artist Meets Archive

The extensive and diverse photographic holdings in the collections and archives of the City of Cologne exemplify the medium's omnipresence and versatility since its invention. Following a selection process led by a jury of representatives from the participating institutions, Photoszene, and external experts, the chosen artists are invited to Cologne for a residency, where they engage with the photographic collections, conduct research, and develop their own lines of inquiry. During the first year of their stay, the program includes joint archive visits, networking events, artist talks, and other opportunities for the public to connect with the artists and their work. The outcomes of these artistic explorations culminate in solo exhibitions, presented as part of the Photoszene Festival in May of the following year.

Past Participants of the Programme:

Artists Institutions