News Deutsches Fotoinstitut: Founding committee presented.

News Deutsches Fotoinstitut: Founding committee found.

Dusseldorf, 19 September 2023

News from the Deutsches Fotoinstitut: Founding Commission presented. It will be interesting to see how they define its task.

Düsseldorf, 19 September 2023: In a press conference at K21 yesterday, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister for Culture and Science Ina Brandes and Lord Mayor Dr Stephan Keller presented the founding commission for the Deutsches Fotoinstitut. Since November 2022, it has been certain that the much sought-after German Photo Institute will open its doors in Düsseldorf. The budget committee of the German Bundestag had decided to finance the construction with 43 million euros and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia announced that it would also contribute a millions sum. As a result, the former rooms of the Felix Ringel Gallery on the Eiskellerberg directly adjacent to the Art Academy were moved into in the summer, presumably as temporary headquarters.

The founding committee that has now been announced consists of top-class names from the German museum landscape, but also international photography experts, such as restorers, because after all, the conservation of photographs is a major issue. The names are: Prof. Dr. Susanne Gaensheimer, Director Kunstsammlung NRW, Düsseldorf, Prof. Peter Gorschlüter, Director Museum Folkwang, Essen, Felix Krämer, General Director Kunstpalast, Katrin Pietsch, Photography Restorer, University of Amsterdam, Christian Scheidemann, Restorer, New York, Inka Schube, Curator, Sprengel Museum, Hanover and Moritz Wegwerth. The photographer is a former student of Andreas Gursky and is also a member of the "Verein zur Gründung und Förderung eines Deutschen Fotoinstituts". At the time, he and Andreas Gursky were primarily concerned with a technical centre of excellence, because photography had long since found its way into museums anyway.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth said at the press conference that her goal was to reconcile "quality with scientific excellence and sustainability" and to set new standards internationally. Sustainability and climate protection is an issue, she said. The founding commission should therefore seek dialogue with the photo scene.

Now that the founding commission has been found, one can be curious to see how they will now define the role of the Deutsches Fotoinstitut.

What happened before

On 19 May, the Bernd and Hilla Becher Prize was awarded on the forecourt of the Eiskeller Galerie. The prize winner was one of the most famous US photographers Carrie Mae Weems. The sponsorship prize was awarded to Hannah Darabi, an Iranian artist living in Paris. Her country of origin is the main theme of her photo series. Read also the exclusive interview on Alethea Talks.

---

By Lizzie Fedi