Artist Meets
Archive #4
2024/25

For the fourth edition of the Artist Meets Archive program, the Internationale Photoszene Köln and the institutions involved in the project are inviting a total of five artists from Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Poland and Spain to Cologne: Marta Bogdanska, Elena Efeoglou, Andrés Galeano, Pauline Hafsia M'barek and Wing Ka Ho Jimmi will be in Cologne for several weeks in the summer for their research residencies. During this time, they will immerse themselves in the archives and collections of the Dombauarchiv, the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, the Museum Ludwig, the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur and the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum and thus in the diverse (photographic) history of the city of Cologne in order to develop new artistic positions. They will then present the results as usual during the Photoszene Festival, which will next take place in May 2025.

Für die vierte Ausgabe des Artist Meets Archive-Programms laden die Internationale Photoszene Köln und die am Projekt beteiligten Institutionen insgesamt fünf Künstler:innen aus Deutschland, Griechenland, Hongkong, Polen und Spanien nach Köln ein: Im Sommer waren Marta Bogdanska, Elena Efeoglou, Andrés Galeano, Pauline Hafsia M’barek und Jimmi Wing Ka Ho für ihre Rechercheresidenzen mehrere Wochen in Köln. In dieser Zeit tauchten sie in die Archive und Sammlungen des Dombauarchivs, des Kölnisches Stadtmuseums, des Museum Ludwig, der Photographischen Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur sowie des Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museums und somit in die vielfältige (Fotografie)-Geschichte der Stadt Köln ein, um daraus neue künstlerische Positionen zu entwickeln. Die Ergebnisse präsentieren sie dann wie gewohnt während des Photoszene-Festivals, das zum nächsten Mal im Mai 2025 stattfindet.

Erstmals in der Geschichte des seit 2017 bestehenden und in seiner Art einmaligen Residenz-Programms „Artist Meets Archive“ konnten sich die internationalen Künstler:innen bei einem Open Call ganz gezielt für die jeweiligen Institutionen und ihre sehr unterschiedlichen fotografischen Archive bewerben. Die Resonanz war genauso überwältigend wie das Niveau der Einreichungen: Mehr als 550 Bewerbungen aus fast 80 Ländern sind bei uns eingetroffen. Vielen Dank!

Artist Talks & Archive Tours

Supporting program during the residencies

In July and August 2024, the five new artists of our Artist Meets Archive program were in Cologne for their residencies and immersed themselves in the diverse (photographic) history of the city of Cologne in order to develop new artistic projects. Even during the residencies, we offered the public the opportunity to get to know the artists and the archives at several events:

Artist Talks

At the Dombauhütte, Elena Efeoglou, Andrés Galeano and Pauline Hafsia M'barek gave exciting insights into their work and shared their first impressions of their time in the Cologne archives.
In the Cologne City Museum, Marta Bogdańska and Jimmi Wing Ka Ho shared their discoveries in the archives in an exciting conversation with Helena Weber.

Archive tours

We had the opportunity to explore three extraordinary photographic collections: At Museum Ludwig, Miriam Szwast guided us through the depot and gave us exclusive insights. With Lucia Halder, we delved into the complex photographic holdings at the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum and Gabriele Conrath-Scholl and Claudia Schubert gave us exciting insights into the archive of the Photographische Sammlung/ SK-Stiftung Kultur.

About Artist Meets Archive

The numerous and diverse photography holdings in the collections and archives of the City of Cologne are representative of the medium's omnipresence since its invention.

After the selection of the artists by a jury consisting of representatives of the participating institutions, the Photoszene and external experts, the artist were invited to Cologne to research the photographic holdings and to develop their own questions within the framework of a residency. During their residencies over the course of the first year, they visited the archives, networked with other artists, and held artist talks and other events that allowed the public to get to know the artists and their work.
The results of their engagement with the photographic collections of the participating institutions will be presented in solo exhibitions during the next Photoszene Festival in May of the following year.

Past Participants of the Programme:

Artists Institutions