Artist Meets Archive #3 Künstlerische Interventionen im Archiv

In the organizer's words:

Since its foundation in the 1980s, the International Photoscene Cologne has been one of the most important photo festivals in Germany. With a constant stream of new themes and artistic impulses, it continues to shape the photographic landscape to this day. Reason enough to take a closer look: What ideas were there at the beginning? What developments are the scene concerned with today?

One of the central projects of the photography scene is the Artist Meets Archive residency program, which is entering its fourth round in 2025. International artists from various photographic disciplines work together with Cologne archives and engage artistically with their image collections. How does the archive influence artistic practice? What perspectives arise from this encounter? And how do you curate such a program?

The newly published anthology Artist Meets Archive #3 documents the third edition of the program and combines academic reflection with an artistic exhibition of works. The focus is on the photo album - a medium that is being repositioned in the digital flood of images: What significance does it have today? How does memory function in a photographic context? In addition to theoretical texts, the volume also presents the artistic projects created as part of the residencies, thus building a bridge between research, archive work and artistic practice.

Discussing these questions are: Photo historian Daria Bona, Heide Häusler, artistic director of the International Photoscene Cologne, photographer Heidi Pfohl and historian Helena Weber. Moderation: Simone Klein, expert and specialist in photography.