Cultural landscapes water

The existing collection of images from the Braunschweig Landscape Association on the theme of "cultural landscapes" was expanded in 2024 to include the theme of "water" as part of a competition. The resulting images are now being presented for the first time at the Museum of Photography Braunschweig as the opening event of a traveling exhibition. 

The number of applications for the photo competition organized by the Braunschweig Landscape Association as part of the "Water" theme year was high. More than 100 entries were received, and almost 50 of these projects made it to the final round. An expert jury selected the four finalists: Jette Held (Tanne/Harz), Oscar Lebeck (Leipzig), Kai Löffelbein (Hannover), and Yana Wernicke (Hochheim am Main).

At the opening on February 21st, Jette Held was announced as the winner of the competition and honored with the prize money of €5.000.

The jury included Natalie Czech (Professor of Photography, Braunschweig University of Art), Benjamin Füglister (artist and director of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography), Barbara Hofmann-Johnson (Director of the Museum of Photography Braunschweig), Bernd Rodrian (Director of the Heidersberger Institute, Wolfsburg) and Stefanie Sembill (curator, representative of the state of Lower Saxony to the Federal Government).

History of the “cultural landscapes”
The "Cultural Landscapes" collection was established in the early 1990s. At the suggestion of the Braunschweig Landscape Association, photographers were invited to submit images depicting the region's typical characteristics. The focus was to be on cultural landscapes outside of cities. The staff of the Museum of Photography Braunschweig undertook the expansion of the collection, and it was first exhibited there in 1991. The works of important photographers from the region, such as Uwe Brodmann, Andreas Greiner-Napp, Heinrich Heidersberger, Heinrich Riebesehl, Klaus Wefringhaus, and Christa Zeißig, serve as documentary and artistic photographs, now considered historically significant sources, recalling the typical features that characterize the Braunschweig region as a historically evolved entity.

A traveling exhibition has opened at the Museum of Photography in Braunschweig. The exhibition features images from the existing collection related to the theme of "water," as well as new photographs by the four selected photographers from the competition. The first stop is the Museum of Photography in Braunschweig, with further venues to follow. This exhibition connects the Museum of Photography Braunschweig to its first exhibition, "Cultural Landscapes," in the 1990s, as well as to later museum projects on the theme, such as "Regional Memory" and exhibitions that explore the photographic documentation of the landscapes of Braunschweig and Lower Saxony. Ulrike Lahmann is the guest curator for the Braunschweig Landscape Association.

A catalogue will be published featuring a selection of existing images from the collection, new acquisitions, and essays by Anja Hesse (foreword), Benjamin Füglister, Anne Gonda, Christin Haase, Barbara Hofmann-Johnson, Ulrike Lahmann, Regine Nahrwold, Bernd Rodrian, Stefanie Sembill, and Thomas Weski. The collection is owned by the Braunschweig Landscape Association and is housed in the Braunschweig City Archives. It is available—in part—for exhibitions.

Side events

Opening

Friday, February 21.02.2025th, 19.00, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
Opening address Barbara Hofmann-Johnson, Director of the Museum of Photography Braunschweig
Personal message Prof. Dr. Anja Hesse, Managing Director of Braunschweigische Landschaft eV and
Head of Cultural Affairs, City of Braunschweig
To the Exhibition Ann Claire Richter, culture editor of the Braunschweiger Zeitung, introduces a
Interview with artists, jury members and curator Ulrike Lahmann
prize-giving Prof. Dr. Anja Hesse, Managing Director of Braunschweigische Landschaft eV
and Head of Cultural Affairs, City of Braunschweig
Laudatio by a member of the competition jury

Afterwards, snacks and wine will be served.

Accompanying program

Saturday, March 22.02.2025th, 15, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
Curator's tour
with Ulrike Lahmann and participants of the exhibition

Sunday, June 02.03.2025, 15, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m
Waterstories x 2
Combined curator-led tour of the exhibitions “Realities of Water” at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum and “Cultural Landscapes – Water” at the Museum of Photography Braunschweig with Prof. Dr. Thomas Döring (HAUM) and Ulrike Lahman (curator of the exhibition “Cultural Landscapes – Water”)

Thursday, 06.03.2025/18.30/XNUMX, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
"Everything in flux – flowing waters and solids transport"
Lecture by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jochen Aberle (Department of Hydraulic Engineering and River Morphology, Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering, Technical University of Braunschweig) at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum

Thursday, March 6, 2025 + April 3, 2025, 1-8 pm
Happy Thursday
Free admission and guided tour with the museum team every first Thursday of the month at 18 pm

Saturday, March 22, 2025 and Sunday, March 23, 2025, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Natural photo development
Workshop with Patrick Hofmann at the Museum of Photography Braunschweig

Sunday, June 20.04.2025, 16, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m
Finissage
Curator-led tour with Ulrike Lahmann and participants of the exhibition