Networked Photography – Launch of New Educational Formats for the Photographic Image 18.04.2018 – 06.12.2024 | Fotomuseum Winterthur

SITUATION #120

In Switzerland, more than three quarters of people over the age of 15 have a smartphone – a device with which images are consumed, but also produced and distributed. Here at Fotomuseum Winterthur, we want to empower ourselves and our visitors to become independent, thoughtful and creative media users. So we are expanding our educational programme around the photographic. Together, we can all play a part in shaping the future.

Rapid changes in the field of the photographic have brought us new kinds of images. Photos have stepped out of their frames, climbed down from the walls, and left the family albums to play a wider role in our everyday lives. We are all active participants in this process, whether we post pictures in social media, send them via instant messaging or save them to the cloud. The role of the photographer, too, has changed. It is no longer simply a question of pressing the shutter-release button. Today’s photographer copies, processes, remixes and recontextualises existing material, as well as writing codes and algorithms that generate images.

At Fotomuseum Winterthur, we are openly receptive to all these changes and we encounter them with a great sense of curiosity and eagerness to experiment. We conduct our research at the cutting edge of new developments and take an active part in the discourse surrounding the photographic image. From cyanotypes to screenshots, from pin-hole cameras to virtual reality, from baryta paper to beamed projections, we want to see the entire spectrum of photography represented.

That is why, in future, we plan to offer more in the way of image and media skills, developed in collaboration with pioneers and specialists in various fields. To launch our new programme, we are offering a workshop on the theme of “Metadata, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence”. The workshop will address some major questions relating to the photographic. How do algorithms drive and alter the visibility of images? What is machine learning, and is artificial intelligence compromised? Where are metadata cached and what do they do? How are we visible online in the first place? Combining a presentation with group activities and open debates, the workshop aims to connect with photography directly and to address issues of visual politics.

The workshop lasts 2–3 hours (costs: 230 CHF) and participants are invited to bring their own laptops. It is conducted by Jana Honegger, media artist and coordinator of workshops and events relating to digital media.

Registration and further information: baumgartner@fotomuseum.ch


More about the educational programme of Fotomuseum Winterthur: fotomuseum.ch/en/visit/21484_education

The workshop was conceived in cooperation with W3rkhof.