Symposium: Frame by Frame – On Collecting Photography
Working with collections of photographic works is a constant challenge for institutions. On the one hand, handling the different material qualities of photographic objects and caring for them is complex. On the other hand, questions arise regarding the visualisation of these objects in both physical and digital spaces. The gaps that collections and archives reveal are also increasingly being discussed: What methods can be used to identify them and how should they be dealt with? How can we develop sustainable strategies to counteract blank spaces by incorporating scientific, artistic and participatory approaches?
These and other questions were addressed during the symposium Frame by Frame – On Collecting Photography, which was held on 17 and 18 May 2024 at Fotomuseum Winterthur. In lectures, discussions and workshops, experts discussed current questions regarding collection work at the interface of theory and practice.
The symposium was made possible by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation. It was conceived and organised by Clara Bolin, Christopher Lützen and Sonja Palade, fellows of the scholarship programme Museum Curators for Photography.
This event took place in the framework of the exhibition A Show of Affection – Collection Constellation 1. Fotomuseum Winterthur took the opportunity presented by the institution’s thirtieth anniversary to examine its own collection, with a selection of artworks by 19 photographers and artists providing an insight into the museum’s collecting activities. The exhibition homed in on the collection’s idiosyncrasies, distinctive qualities and thematic focuses as well as the variety of different factors influencing its (progressive) development – while also scrutinising museum collecting practices per se.
A conference report on Frame by Frame by Katrin Bauer was published in Rundbrief Fotografie.
Einmal alles, bitte! Jahrhundertprojekt Sammlungsinventur – Short lecture by Mirco Melone (Historisches Museum Basel)
Disrupting the Collection? – Lena Holbein (Düsseldorf) in conversation with Liang-Kai Yu (Maastricht University) on artistic interventions
Die Sammlung hinterfragen – Dorothee Linnemann (Historisches Museum, Frankfurt on the Main) and Katharina Steidl (Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna) discussing feminist collection practices
Suchen, durchstöbern, erkunden – Museale Sammlungen online erfahrbar machen – Short lecture by Sarah Kreiseler (Rundlingsmuseum, Lübeln)
The short lecture led into the workshop Einbahnstrasse oder Multiperspektivität? Bewegte Blicke auf Online-Sammlungen und Informationsvisualisierungen, in which participants developed and discussed various possibilities of information visualisation.
Die Sammlung öffnen: Wie Partizipation nach aussen und innen wirken kann – Vortrag von Jonas Bürgi (Museum für Kommunikation, Bern)
In a remote lecture entitled Lücken füllen? Erste Bilanzen, Suy Lan Hopmann (Stadtmuseum Berlin) also spoke about collection strategies in the context of decolonial cultures of remembrance. The programme was rounded off by a guided tour of the depot by Géraldine Feller (Fotomuseum Winterthur) and a visit to the exhibition A Show of Affection – Collection Constellation 1 with a focus on art education by Christina Schmidt (Fotomuseum Winterthur).
The results of the final discussion were collected in a survey of participants and visitors using Mentimeter:
