BERLIN.- On Wednesday, 31 October, the 8th edition of Germany’s largest photo festival came to a successful close, drawing a total of 500,000 visitors. In 120 exhibitions and more than 300 events – including workshops, talks, studio visits, films, and much more – the diversity of historical and contemporary photography was presented, explored, and debated. Participants included museums, galleries, embassies, cultural institutes, project spaces, and photography schools in Berlin and Potsdam, with both indoor and outdoor events. Particularly popular were the exhibitions “Daring to Dream. 50 Years Hipgnosis” at Browse Gallery; “Vivian Maier. In Her Own Hands” at Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus; “The Moment is Eternity” at me Collectors Room Berlin; “Back to the Future” and “Nicholas Nixon” at C/O Berlin; “Between the Films – A Photo History of the Berlinale” at the Deutsche Kinemathek; and “Jahrgang Zwölf”, the graduate show at Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie.
The EMOP Opening Days, which were organized for the second time in cooperation with the C/O Berlin Foundation and curated by its team, also enjoyed great popularity, drawing 10,000 visitors during the opening weekend of EMOP Berlin 2018. Talks with the photographers Nicholas Nixon and Martin Parr proved to be a crowd-puller – also thanks to the beautiful weather and the musical acts – until late in the evening.
“For one month at EMOP Berlin, small project spaces were on par with large museums, national cultural institutes with photography schools, embassies with established galleries, and renowned photographers with interested tourists. This is what gives the festival its special charm,” said Moritz van Dülmen, CEO of Kulturprojekte Berlin.
The festival’s extensive program of events, which included symposia, artist talks, guided tours, discussion events, and workshops, complemented the exhibitions by national and international established and emerging photographic artists. This year, personal encounters with renowned photographers were made possible by events such as the new format, “Meet the Pro”. Special studio visits with Gerhard Kassner, Anatol Kotte, Yoram Roth, and Armin Zogbaum were very well received by photo enthusiasts, fellow photographers, and other photo industry professionals. The film program specially conceived for EMOP Berlin by and about photographers by our partner DokuArts was also very well received.
Since 2004, Germany’s largest photo festival has been showcasing the broad spectrum of historical and contemporary photography in Berlin every two years. Museums, cultural institutions, galleries, project spaces, embassies, and photo schools in Berlin and Potsdam host numerous exhibition projects and events selected by a panel of experts. The formats range from outdoor exhibitions and large museum shows, to individual and group presentations in galleries and project spaces, and impressive contributions from various foreign cultural institutions and embassies as well as municipal offices for art and culture.
