(fully booked) Curating Photography – Mastering the Photo Book – Workshop with Kristin Dittrich
4–6 April 2025
Softcover, Stumpergasse 53-55, 1060 Vienna
Three-day workshop
Friday, April 4, 2025 18:30-22:00
Saturday, April 5, 2025 9:30-18:00
Sunday, April 6, 2025 10:00-16:00
Language: German
min. 6 persons
Early Bird Ticket: Booking until March 7, 2025 at the latest
€ 399,- incl. VAT. & material costs
Late Bird Ticket: Booking until March 21, 2025 at the latest
€ 459,- incl. VAT. & material costs
In order for images to be perceived, read and anchored in the memory, targeted design is required – a process that we call “curating”. From the concept to the production of a photo book, every decision requires sensitivity in order to be heard by the public. Kristin Dittrich, curator and director of the Shift School, has been researching the art of curating photography for 15 years.
We are surrounded by an endless flood of images – only extraordinary visual experiences still captivate us. That’s why curating photography is essential for exhibitions and photo books today. The decisive factor is not just the individual image, but what happens between the images: What stories emerge, what connections deepen the impact? The more questions a photograph raises, the more fascinating it becomes. Its artistic quality increases with its philosophical, ethical, cultural, sociological and aesthetic relevance – and with it the chance to be noticed and remembered.
Schedule and course content:
Friday 18:30-21:30, Softcover:
- Welcome, introduction
- Book formats for photography
- How do curators think?
- Areas of expertise of a curator
- Groundbreaking photo books – masterpieces of the curatorial in the photo book
Saturday 9:30-12:30, Softcover:
- New arrangements of images
- Tell or let tell: Photography as a metaphor
- Introduction to the dramaturgical art of curating
- Interaction of images: Main images, bridge images, note images
- Rhythm and beat in an exhibition
Saturday 14:30-18:00, Albertina:
- Visit to the exhibition by Francesca Woodman at the Albertina
- Curatorial tasks in the exhibition
- The meta-themes of contemporary photography
- How to develop a relevant book theme?
- Visual storytelling in the photobook in photography
- Image layer model – How to assess high image quality in a photograph?
Sunday 10:00-16:00, Softcover:
- New arrangements of images
- Tell or let tell: Photography as a metaphor
- Introduction to the dramaturgical art of curating
- Interaction of images: Main images, bridge images, note images
- Rhythm and beat in an exhibition
- The influence of space on images – The power of spaces
- Defining editions and editions
About Kristin Dittrich:
Kristin Dittrich (born 1977) is the director of the Shift School for Photography in Dresden and Vienna as well as an art expert for contemporary photography. As an independent mentor, art critic and curator, she specializes in photography in the field of high culture. She is the founder of the photo festival F/STOP in Leipzig as well as the Shift School for Photography, which offers a mentoring program for photographers and deals with research on memory, ethics, philosophy, sociology, zeitgeist and biographical work. The Shift School is a member of the German Photography Council.
Kristin Dittrich studied photography research and curating at the Sorbonne in Paris. She was a guest lecturer at the ENSP in Arles, in the Department of Art History at the University of Leipzig as well as at the Anzenberger Masterclass in Vienna and the Month of Photography. As a member of the founding team of Paris Photo and collaborator of the world exhibition DOCUMENTA13 in Kassel, she gained extensive experience in the international art world. She is also the owner and curator of the first photo book library at Steidl Verlag in Göttingen. Through her work as a mentor, she supports photographers from Austria and around the world – regardless of the stage of development of their projects. With a critical eye and great commitment, she accompanies creative projects and artistic goals in photography.
Cancellation conditions:
If the cancellation is made up to 2 weeks before the workshop, 50% of the fee must be paid. If the cancellation is made later than 2 weeks before the workshop or if the person does not take part in the workshop without canceling, the full amount of the fee is due. In this case, the right to participate is transferable to another person. The workshop will be canceled if the minimum number of participants is not reached or if the participant is unable to attend for an important reason. The fee already paid will then be refunded immediately. Additional costs incurred as a result of the workshop being canceled cannot be covered.