5.30-7pm
Opening reception featuring guest curator Olaf Stüber from Berlin, associated with Videoart at Midnight.

7-8.30pm
A discussion titled "Still Film: Photography in artist film and video” with curators Olaf Stüber & Jutta Brendemühl.

Key exhibition CONTACT Photography Festival 2025

The Goethe-Institut collaborates with an innovative Berlin film project to explore the intersections of photography within film and video. Artist Pınar Öğrenci examines the experiences of Turkish and Kurdish migrants in German mining regions through archival materials. Helena Uambembe presents her shadow imagery against a magnified photograph from 1975, which features leaders of South Africa’s opposition movements. Meanwhile, Andreas Koch showcases a reflective montage of photos from his favorite bar, enhanced by a compelling voice-over.

Featured Artists:

Andreas Koch born in Stuttgart in 1970, studied at the Berlin University of the Arts, and co-ran the Koch and Kesslau Gallery in Berlin. In 2020, he received an art prize from the city of Nordhorn. Koch is known for his diverse work as a visual artist, art critic magazine editor, designer, and publisher of a small art book press.

Pınar Öğrenci born in Van, Turkey, in 1973, resides in Berlin. Her work has been showcased in several prestigious exhibitions, including documenta fifteen and the 12th Gwangju Biennial. She has received multiple awards including the Villa Romana Prize in 2022, with upcoming exhibitions planned for 2024/25 at venues like the Venice Biennale and Harvard Art Museum.

Helena Uambembe born in Pomfret, South Africa, in 1994, also lives in Berlin. Uambembe's work reflects her family's history intertwined with the Angolan civil war. She is a member of the Kutala Chopeto collective and has received notable awards such as the DAAD Scholarship in Berlin and Germany’s ars viva Prize for 2025.

Curators:

Olaf Stüber is a contemporary art curator specializing in time-based media. He has been pivotal in the artist cinema project Videoart at Midnight, which he co-founded and directs. Stüber engages in various artistic activities, including publishing, lecturing, and curating exhibitions and programs internationally.

Jutta Brendemühl focuses on international cultural relations as a programmer, advisor, and writer. Currently, she is the Program Curator at a prominent cultural institution and actively participates in numerous arts boards and cultural initiatives.