FRANKFURT.- The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation announces the launch of a newly created two-year Curatorial Fellowship. This initiative is designed to support mid-career curators in advancing their research-led exhibition organising practice and professional growth. It will provide them with the unique opportunity to work with the Foundation on a jointly developed exhibition project and to propose new acquisitions to its collection. Holding over 2,400 works by around 170 international artists, the Art Collection Deutsche Börse focuses on contemporary photography from the mid-20th century to the present, encompassing a wide range of visual languages and artistic approaches. The Curatorial Fellowship underscores the Foundation’s commitment to supporting curatorial practice and to fostering a deeper dialogue on contemporary photography with experts worldwide, while further expanding the diversity within the Art Collection with regards to representation and scope.

During the collaboration starting in spring 2026 and culminating in the presentation of the show in spring 2028, the selected curatorial fellow will engage in research of the Foundation’s existing collection, identifying narratives and themes and developing a detailed exhibition concept. A further key component of the fellowship will be to propose new artistic positions for acquisitions that complement, enrich and strengthen the planned exhibition as well as the existing collection with new perspectives. The resulting thematic exhibition, co-curated with the Foundation, will be shown in its premises and at another photography institution in Europe. Through the collaborative approach and the combination of existing and newly acquired works of art, the exhibition will shed new light on the collection and demonstrate how it addresses aesthetic, societal, social and political issues through the medium of photography.

“We are very excited to launch this new initiative, which strategically expands our commitment to contemporary photography by making curatorial practice a central pillar of our support programme. This open call is designed to encourage dynamic exchanges and to bring fresh perspectives into our engagement with the medium. I am very much looking forward to the new narratives that this collaboration will bring to our collection and to the resulting exhibition that will be co-created with the selected curatorial fellow”, says Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Foundation.

The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation is deeply committed to promoting contemporary photography, from exhibiting a broad variety of artistic positions and continuously expanding the collection to supporting emerging talent and fostering academic dialogue. This commitment is realised through a wide range of initiatives, including scholarships, prizes and the presentation of work by young artists as well as various awards and events which promote the exchange of ideas and new perspectives on photography. With the launch of this new Curatorial Fellowship, the Foundation establishes curatorial practices as a central pillar of its support programme. Building on the successful collaboration with Associate Curator Mariama Attah in 2023/2024 and existing initiatives such as the “Guest Room” format in cooperation with Der Greif, the new fellowship provides curators with significant opportunities to engage with a collection of contemporary photography and develop their curatorial practice.

The call for applications is now live and closes on 31 December 2025. The fellowship is designed to be undertaken remotely, with regular online communication and on-site visits to the Foundation in Frankfurt/Eschborn. Interested curators can find more information on the application process, candidate profile, the fellowship’s scope, benefits and application requirements on the Foundation’s website.