Anticipated Experiences of Berlin's 2025 European Photo Month
Slicing Reality: The Power of Photography Unleashed at EMOP Berlin
Photography, according to Maren Lübbke-Tidow, artistic director of EMOP Berlin, serves as a powerful tool for narrating tales and a universal language that transcends boundaries. It's no wonder that photography stands as the most influential visual medium of our time.
Now in its 11th edition, EMOP offers a comprehensive review of Berlin's and Europe's contemporary photography scenes. This festival isn't just about celebration but also questioning our relationship with a medium that continues to evolve. As Akinbode Akinbiyi, photographer and EMOP Berlin jury member, puts it, "We are continually redefining our relationship to photography."
This year's theme, 'what stands between us', delves into our fractured society. At the Akademie der Künste, the central exhibition examines photography as a method of chronicling, posing questions about how we approach and document contemporary conflicts through photography. The festival tackles pressing issues such as climate change, urban development, and oppressive regimes, with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and ongoing unrest in the Middle East casting a long shadow.
"Our world today is deeply divided," Lübbke-Tidow states, `"but our approach is to focus on works that reflect on the present critically, rather than providing straightforward solutions. In the central exhibition, for example, you won't find images that endorse a specific political stance."
EMOP unfolds across 103 venues in Berlin, from renowned institutions such as the Akademie der Künste, Hamburger Bahnhof, and C/O Berlin, to smaller project spaces like Herspective, a collective of professional female photographers exhibiting at CANK - the former C&A on Karl-Marx-Straße. Among the highlights is Annette Frick, a German artist showcased at Chert Lüdde Gallery.
The festival also shines a spotlight on experimental photography and photography-based processes. These range from preserving disappearing analog techniques to adopting groundbreaking technologies. Notably, Hamburger Bahnhof will host the first German museum solo exhibition of South Korean artist Ayoung Kim, who works with artificial intelligence.
In addition to guided tours, artist talks, and panels, EMOP 2023 features a large exhibition featuring emerging photographers from schools like Ostkreuzschule, Lette Verein, and Fachhochschule Potsdam. As Lübbke-Tidow explains,
🖼️ What's showing now in Berlin art?
EMOP, Akademie der Künste, and other venues across Berlin, March 1 - 31, details.
Although specific information about the 2023 EMOP Berlin Photography Festival isn't readily available, the festival consistently delivers a diverse range of photographic works throughout Berlin. For a glimpse of what to expect in the future, EMOP Berlin 2025 plans to feature 100 exhibitions from over 170 submissions, with an emphasis on political tensions, democratic values, and innovative applications of technology in photography.
If you're curious about the specific exhibitions from the 2023 event, consult the official EMOP Berlin archives or publications from that year for more details.
The diverse visual language of photography extends to home-and-garden lifestyle photography, as one can expect an array of photographic works in various exhibitions during EMOP. With a focus on documenting contemporary reality, the festival showcases photography as a tool to examine pressing issues such as climate change and urban development.
