Art meets history: Student exhibition opened in Hohenschönhausen

Art meets history: Student exhibition opened in Hohenschönhausen

Prerower Platz 2, 13051 Berlin, Deutschland - On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, district mayor Martin Schaefer (CDU) will be the exhibition "Get a picture!" open in the Anna-Segher's library in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. This exhibition illuminates photographic works by pupils of the eighth grade of the Fritz-Reuter secondary school and is part of the model project "Futurekieze", which is funded by various Senate administrations. The exhibition will be shown until September 23, 2025 and shows the discussion of the young people with their Neu-Hohenschönhausen district.

The exhibition presents current photographs of the students that they relate to historical recordings from the 1980s. These historical photographs come from the agency GDR photo heir and the Lichtenberg Museum and offer an interesting context for the modern views of the young people. The exhibition is curated jointly by the pupils and the GDR photo heir, the photos were taken both digitally and analogously. The analog films were developed in the "mobile dark chamber" of the Blo studios on Nöldnerplatz.

exhibition concept and digital presentation

parallel to the physical exhibition, a digital presentation of further school work and historical photographs are offered in the Kunsthaus 360 ° on Prerower. This expands access to deal with the topic and offers an interactive view of city history.

The exhibition is supported by the art mediation Lichtenberg and the expertise of photographer Bert Konopatzky, who plays an important role in creative exchange with the young people. The project is also supported by the funds of the Lichtenberg - Hohenschönhausen Cultural Promotion fund. It aims to offer young people a platform for reflection on their surroundings and to illustrate the connection between the past and the present.

further questions about photography

In a broader context on photographs and their social importance, the installation "The Recognition Machine" in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is pointed out, which deals with the relationship between visitors and historical photographs. This installation addresses the colonial aspects of photography, which also in the exhibition "Get a picture!" Play a role by critically reflecting on the history of the pictures. Questions about the bias of algorithms and the visualization of historical photographs are raised, which also affects the subject of the restitution of cultural goods, especially photographs.

Postcolonial research shows that photographic recordings often have a repressive force that disguised social conflicts and promoted stereotypical representations of people. Historical photographs offer important insights, but are also dependent on the context and often shaped by a loss of the development context, which makes their interpretation complex. These topics illustrate the responsibility of museums and archives to curate historical photographs responsibly and to tell the stories behind the pictures.