Beginning of a Collection

In Fotomuseum Winterthur’s mission statement the announcement at the end was almost a bit terse: a collection of international art photography will be built up. The sentence came at the end because it was most important to create a research site for the medium of photography, with changing exhibitions, lectures, discussions, tours, and publications. A place for presentation and discussion. Yet the site is a museum of photography, which entails provisions for conservation and museum activities.

In the end, Fotomuseum began with an active exhibition program and was rather passive in assembling a collection because the economically difficult times did not allow for both at the same time. Surprisingly, various gifts from photographers and from third parties, various long-term loans and individual purchases have made the topic of collection pressing for Fotomuseum. This is why, only a year and a half after the opening, this exhibition marks the Beginning of a Collection, giving a first peek into the budding collection. Works on view include Hans Danuser, John Divola, Robert Frank, Kaspar Thomas Linder, Anita Niesz, and Joel Sternfeld.

The exhibition was curated by Urs Stahel.