Artist Meets
Archive #5

In July and August, artists Lana Mesić, Viktoriia Tymonova, and the duo Juana Awad and Luisa Ungar spent several weeks in Cologne. During this time, they engaged intensively with the respective archives on site to develop new artistic perspectives: the archive of the Fotowerkstätte Schmölz, the Greven Digital Archive, and the German Dance Archive in Cologne.

This month, Maria Trabulo started her residency at the LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn and the FrauenMediaTurm Cologne. On October 20, we invite you to get to know the artist and her work more closely in a public conversation:

Artist Talk with Maria Trabulo
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
FrauenMediaTurm – Feminist Archive and Library (Am Bayenturm 2, 50678 Cologne)
The talk will be held in English. Admission is free.
Please register at antonia.pecavar@photoszene.de

In August, there was already an opportunity to get to know the artists during two public artist talks: At a historic setting, Lana Mesić and Viktoriia Tymonova offered insights into their different working methods and bodies of work at the former Schmölz Photo Studio, and discussed their initial explorations of the Schmölz Photo Studio Archive and the Greven Digital Archive in conversation with Daria Bona. At the Dance Museum of the German Dance Archive in Cologne, Luisa Ungar and Juana Awad discussed their individual approaches and how these come together in their joint project at the German Dance Archive in Cologne.

During joint visits to the Cologne City Museum, the Museum Ludwig, and the Rheinisches Bildarchiv, the artists also became acquainted with other significant photographic collections in the city. Many thanks to all participants, partners, and the audience for the inspiring exchange

The resulting artistic projects will be presented at the upcoming Photoszene Festival in May 2027.

Artist Meets Archive #5 is generously supported by the City of Cologne, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Kunststiftung NRW, the Sparkassen Kulturstiftung Rheinland, the Sparkasse KölnBonn, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.