EMOP Berlin 2020

The 9. edition of EMOP Berlin – European Month of Photography, will take place from 1 till 31 October 2020

The 9th edition of EMOP Berlin — European Month of Photography will take place from 1 31 October 2020.

More than 100 Berlin museums, galleries, cultural institutions, embassies, alternative art spaces, project spaces, and photography schools will offer a wide range of exhibitions and events showcasing the beloved and celebrated medium in all its diversity. This year’s main theme is Europe — Identity, Crisis, Future. Further topics such as 30 years of German reunification and 100 years of Greater Berlin, as well as classical genres such as portrait, architectural, and fashion photography will also be represented.

Thanks to its decentralized program with numerous partner institutions and parallel exhibitions, EMOP Berlin can take place in autumn regardless of any possible restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Suitable measures regarding entrances and other hygiene requirements will be taken in response to the situation as needed.

In 2016 and 2018, the EMOP Opening Days were held at C/O Berlin Foundation in Amerika Haus to kick off the festival. This year, Kulturprojekte Berlin is working together with Akademie der Künste; the EMOP Opening Days will take place from 2—4 October at Pariser Platz. Under the main theme of Photography between Art, Politics, and Mass Media, an extensive program with internationally renowned photographers, curators, media experts, and journalists will be offered. Panel discussions, artist talks, discursive events, a film program, and guided tours of the exhibition by the photographers of OSTKREUZ will mark the beginning of this year’s Month of Photography.

At the end of March 2020, 110 projects were selected for participation by this year’s jury, consisting of Thomas Licek (former Managing Director of Eyes On, Vienna), Barbara Esch Marowski (Director, Haus am Kleistpark), Annette Hauschild (photographer, OSTKREUZ — Agentur der Fotografen), Dr. Susanne Holschbach (art and media scholar, lecturer, Neue Schule für Fotografie), and Dr. Christiane Stahl (Director, Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation). Excerpt from the Jury 2020 statement: “The 9th edition of the festival in Berlin will once again showcase photographic gems and offer an exciting and aesthetically sophisticated examination of photography that is sure to bring this multifaceted medium closer to thousands of visitors”.

MAIN EXHIBITION OF EMOP BERLIN 2020

As part of this year’s EMOP Berlin, Akademie der Künste will present CONTINENT — In Search of Europe, a group show of works by all 23 members of OSTKREUZ — Agentur der Fotografen, which will open to kick-off the festival on 1 October 2020.

In 22 independent artistic positions developed for this project, the OSTKREUZ photographers explore various aspects of European coexistence, considering personal, social, and political phenomena as well as fundamentalstructures and historical developments. Their images of people and  surroundings offer access to complex issues, which range from identity and security, renationalization, migration, and integration to basic notions ofhumanism, democracy, and  of expression.

CONTINENT — In search of Europe marks the 30th anniversary of the  OSTKREUZ agency, which was founded by seven photographers in East Berlin in 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall but before German reunification. With critical questions — such as “What connects us? What ways do we live with each other? How will our continent and our coexistence on it develop?” — the current discourse on Europe will be taken up and discussed photographically. The exhibition is curated by Ingo Taubhorn.

ABOUT EUROPEAN MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY BERLIN

Since 2004, Germany’s largest photography festival has showcased the broad spectrum of contemporary and historical photography in Berlin every two years. Museums, cultural institutions, galleries, project spaces, embassies, and photography schools in Berlin an Potsdam host numerous exhibition projects and events, selected by a jury of experts. The formats range from outdoor exhibitions and large museum presentations to individual and group shows in galleries and project spaces, and impressive contributions at foreign cultural institutions and embassies as well as municipal agencies for art and culture.

EMOP Berlin is a member of the European Month of Photography (EMOP), a European joint project which currently includes photography festivals in Lisbon, Luxembourg, Paris, and Vienna. The idea of creating a European network of photo festivals was born in 2003 on the initiative of Berlin’s partner city, Paris. The aim of the joint project is to promote cooperation at the European level, strengthen the international photography scene, intensify the exchange of information and experience, and support emerging artists.

EMOP BERLIN — EUROPEAN MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY 2020
Duration 1—31 October 2020
In more than 100 institutions citywide
Opening Thursday, 1 October 2020
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
EMOP Opening Days 2—4 October 2020
Akademie der Künste