The Walther Collection

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The Walther Collection Project Space
526 West 26th Street, Suite 718
New York, NY 10001
United States

The Project Space is closed from November 23–24 for Thanksgiving. The last day of "East of Que Village: The Ends of Nature" is on Saturday, November 25.

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The Walther Collection
Reichenauerstrasse 21
Neu-Ulm/Burlafingen
Germany

Our exhibition premises in Neu-Ulm are closed from November 13, 2

017 to May 13, 2018 due to renovations. On May 13, 2018 we will open the exhibition Life and Dreams: Photography & Media Art in China since the 1990s with an open house day from 11am to 5pm.

For information, tour guide bookings or questions, please contact [email protected] or +49 731 176 91 43.

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The Walther Collection opened in June 2010 in Neu-Ulm / Burlafingen, Germany. The Foundation’s New York City outpost, The Walther Collection Project Space, opened in April 2011. The Collection incorporates works across regions, periods, and artistic sensibilities, giving particular focus to artists and photographers working in Asia and Africa.

10/02/2024

The Walther Collection hosted a class last week from „Nearest Truth,“ a podcast on photography, at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm led by Brad Feuerhelm, Federico Clavarino, and Chiara Bardelli Nonnino Federico. This year long course focuses on the editing and sequencing of participants‘ photographic works to construct a conceptual presentation in the form of a photobook. Feuerhelm has drawn inspiration from our exhibition „Who We Are: Portraits and Vernacular Photography,“ which has been pivotal in shaping the creative direction of the course.

„Who We Are: Portraits and Vernacular
Photography“ is currently on view at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm, Germany.

Opening Hours:
Thursday to Sunday, 2 - 5pm
Free admission, no wheelchair accessibility.

09/30/2024

The Walther Collection hosted a lecture by Brad Feuerhelm on the importance of vernacular photography and its growing role as a social archive.

Feuerhelm, a dedicated collector of vernacular photography for over two decades, has contributed extensively to publications and curated international exhibitions. While he appreciates the „canon of photographic masters,“ he believes vernacular photography remains an area of ongoing discovery.

In his lecture, he encouraged the audience to “examine the dusty albums and shoe boxes in closets and attics more closely,“ emphasizing the untapped potential of everyday photography as a window into both personal and collective histories.

“Who We Are: Portraits and Vernacular Photography” is currently on view at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm, Germany.

Opening Hours:
Thursday to Sunday, 2 – 5pm
Free admission, no wheelchair accessibility.

09/24/2024

Collecting Vernacular Photography
Guest Lecture with Brad Feuerhelm
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 7pm

In connection with the exhibition „Who We Are: Portraits and Vernacular Photography“, join us for a presentation by Brad Feuerhelm on collecting vernacular photography and their increased importance as social archives.
Brad Feuerhelm (b. 1977) is an artist, curator, and editor with a focus on contemporary photography. He is the Managing Editor and Partner for “American Suburb X”, an online platform dedicated to photobook reviews, and runs the “Nearest Truth” podcast, where he engages in critical discussions about photography, including an episode with Brian Wallis. Feuerhelm is also a publisher and avid collector of vernacular photography, contributing regularly to various publications and curating exhibitions internationally. Based in Slovakia, Feuerhelm’s work continues to influence the discourse on contemporary visual culture.

The Walther Collection
Reichenauerstr. 21
89233 Neu-Ulm, Germany
 This event is free and open to the public.
Please email [email protected] to RSVP.

Image 1: Unidentified Photographer, „Female Wrestling,“ ca. 1970s

Image 2: Unidentified Compiler, „New Years Eve Party Album,“ 1952-1958

Image 3: Unidentified Photographer and Compiler, „Collage Album with Female N**e Studies,“ ca. 1955

Image 4: Unidentified Photographers, „The Lost and Found Project,“ no date, compiled in 2011

09/13/2024

“Who We Are: Portraits and Vernacular Photography“ is currently on view at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm, Germany.

We invite you to our Open House on the 15th of September from 11 am to 5 pm, featuring three guided tours at 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 3:30 pm.

The Walther Collection is pleased to present “Who We Are: Portraits and Vernacular Photography”, at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm. “ Who We Are” is the first part in a two-year exhibition survey dedicated to vernacularphotography, the broad category of everyday images that shape and define our lives and that one might see on a passport, in an old family photo album, in a magazine, or even online. This exhibition, aims to examine vernacular photographywith the same critical attention generally devoted to contemporary fine-art photography, and to consider these familiar but often overlooked photographic practices within specific social and cultural histories.

Images: Matthias Schmiedel

06/10/2024

Exhibition opening of “Who We Are: Portraits and vernacular Photography” at the Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm.

Divided into five thematic sections, ”Who We Are” is displayed throughout the four exhibition buildings of The Walther Collection: ”Against Portraiture” downstairs and “The Photographic Object” upstairs in the White Cube; “Decolonized: Changing Visions of African Identity” in the Green House; “Photo Albums: Archiving Everyday Life” in the Black House”; and “Ways of Gender Identity” in the Gray House. While not comprehensive, these focused case studies offer original ways of seeing familiar images and new perspectives on quotidian social histories.

The exhibition is currently on view until March 30, 2025.

The Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm, Germany is open:
Thursdays to Sunday, 2 - 5pm
Viewings of the four exhibition houses at 2, 3 and 4 pm.
Private Guided Tours are available by appointment.

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas!

The Walther Collection wishes you a peaceful holiday season!

Frohe Weihnachten!

The Walther Collection wünscht Ihnen besinnliche Weihnachtstage!

Image: Malick Sidibé, “Nuit de Noël (Christmas Eve, Happy Club),” 1963.

© Malick Sidibé. Courtesy MAGNIN-A, Paris.

11/22/2023

What a nice surprise to find the Collection’s publication “Recent Histories: Contemporary African Photography and Video Art” (2017) at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, “The Laboratory of the Future,” curated by Lesley Lokko. You can find “Recent Histories” at the Arsenale Bookshop.

Edited and introduced by Daniela Baumann, Joshua Chuang, and Oluremi C. Onabanjo, “Recent Histories: Contemporary African Photography and Video Art” features photography and video art by Edson Chagas, Mimi Cherono Ng’ok, Andrew Esiebo, Em’kal Eyongakpa, François-Xavier Gbré, Simon Gush, Délio Jasse, Lebohang Kganye, Sabelo Mlangeni, Mame-Diarra Niang, Dawit L. Petros, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Thabiso Sekgala, and Michael Tsegaye.

“Recent Histories: Contemporary African Photography and Video Art” gathers the perspectives of fourteen artists born after 1970, who live and work throughout the African continent, and around the globe. Some of the artists take the changing African urban landscape as their subject, and others consider the experience of moving across various geographies and cultures. By turns their works delve into complex notions of identity and memory, examine and deconstruct social spaces, and map emotional cartographies in compelling and generative ways. Accentuating these distinct perspectives and delineating the infrastructures and collective platforms that link them, “Recent Histories” establishes a foundation for engaging critically with contemporary practices and their contexts.

“Recent Histories” features essays by Antawan I. Byrd, Emmanuel Iduma, M. Neelika Jayawardane, Allison Moore, Serubiri Moses, Mikhael Subotzky, and Drew Thompson; artist conversations by Joshua Chuang, John Fleetwood, Emmanuel Iduma, Marta Jecu, Negarra Akili Kudumu, Eva Langret, Maaza Mengiste, Prishani Naidoo, Ana Balona de Oliveira, Oluremi C. Onabanjo, Sean O’Toole, Ahmed Veriava, Brendan Wattenberg, and Zoé Whitley; as well as statements by each artist. A conversation between Okwui Enwezor and Artur Walther explores the development of African photography as a field.

11/14/2023

Last Sunday, we were pleased to welcome Tamar Garb and a diverse group of scholars and visitors from London and Frankfurt for the finissage of “Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt” at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm. We extend our deepest gratitude to Tamar, who curated the exhibition of these two important artists and for giving a final guided tour of this incredible exhibition. Thank you to all the visitors – from local to abroad – who came to visit our exhibition in Neu-Ulm. We look forwarded to welcoming you to our next exhibition at our Museum Campus.

Image 01 (L to R): Theresa Dettinger, curator based in Frankfurt; Professors Mechthild Fend (University of Frankfurt), Tamar Garb, Briony Fer, Mignon Nixon, History of Art Department at University College of London; and Rasaad Jamie, writer and journalist.

Image 02: Tamar Garb with Drs Julian and Myra Stern from London.

-ulm .melek

11/14/2023

Last Sunday, we were pleased to welcome Tamar Garb and a diverse group of scholars and visitors from London and Frankfurt for the finissage of “Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt” at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm. We extend our deepest gratitude to Tamar, who curated the exhibition of these two important artists and for giving a final guided tour of this incredible exhibition. Thank you to all the visitors – from local to abroad – who came to visit our exhibition in Neu-Ulm. We look forwarded to welcoming you to our next exhibition at our Museum Campus.

Image (L to R): Theresa Dettinger, curator based in Frankfurt; Professors Mechthild Fend (University of Frankfurt), Tamar Garb, Briony Fer, Mignon Nixon, History of Art Department at University College of London; and Rasaad Jamie, writer and journalist.

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11/12/2023

It was a great to see Jo Ractliffe at this year’s Paris Photo!

Since 2005, when Okwui Enwezor and Artur Walther first visited Jo Ractliffe in Johannesburg, the Collection has exhibited several of her major bodies of work, including “Diana Archive,” “The Borderlands,” and “Johannesburg Inner City Works,” across various exhibitions, most recently in our major exhibitions “Shifting Dialogues” at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, K21 in Düsseldorf in 2021, and “Trace—Formations of Likeness” at Haus der Kunst in Munich earlier this year. Jo’s first solo exhibition in the U.S. inaugurated our Project Space in New York in 2011 and featured a portfolio of 60 platinum prints from “As Terras do Fim do Mundo” (The Lands of the End of the World), a series of haunting images that reflected past tragedies in the sweeping landscapes of present-day Angola.

In 2020, the Collection co-published with Steidl “Photographs: 1980s to now,” the first book to present a comprehensive selection of Jo’s work over the past 35 years, bringing together major photo-essays, as well as early works that have not been seen before. In his essay “Exodus of the Dogs,” Okwui Enwezor writes “In Ractliffe’s work, to see — particularly in the treacherous case of South Africa, where despite appearances of black-and-white moral clarity, things are far murkier than often revealed — is to see beyond what the image reveals itself to be.”

We are deeply proud of our long-standing association with Jo Ractliffe and look forward to continuing to work with this important artist.

10/31/2023

Today we had the pleasure of welcoming the team from the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation to our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm: Anne-Marie Beckmann, Managing Director and Curator of Art Collection Deutsche Börse; Alexandra König, Communication and Education; Isabelle Hammer, Communication and Media, and Volker Hille, Collection Presentation. We toured our current exhibition "Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt," and shared and discussed our exhibition and publication programs.

In 1999, the Deutsche Börse Group started to collect and promote contemporary photography and has since built an internationally renowned art collection and active exhibition and educational exchange programs. Since 2005, The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize has been described as "the most prestigious" of its kind in Europe and is awarded annually to a living artist who has made the most significant contribution to the photographic medium during the past year.

This year's prize was awarded to Samuel Fosso, whose works have been included in numerous of our exhibitions and publications, most notably the retrospective exhibition "Samuel Fosso: The Man with a Thousand Faces” at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm in 2022, presented in collaboration with .paris , which later toured to in Amsterdam. We co-published with Steidl the two major monographic publications — “SIXSIXSIX” and “Autoportrait”, the first comprehensive survey dedicated to the work of Samuel Fosso.

10/27/2023

Reminiscing about our two previous Yoga and Brunch gatherings with and ! Last month, we hosted groups of yoga and art enthusiasts at the Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm with a yoga session in the garden, followed by a beautifully crafted brunch using garden-fresh ingredients and freshly pressed apple juice, tea, and coffee. To complement the meal, the well-known baker Markus Hummel prepared an assortment of desserts using ingredients sourced from the garden. We concluded the day with a tour of our exhibition “Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt,” and enjoyed some apple picking in the garden.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all who joined us on those memorable autumn days. We look forward to hosting more community-building events in the future.

10/22/2023

To mark the closing of the exhibition “Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt,” we will be hosting a finissage event at our Museum Campus in Neu-Ulm, Germany on November 12, 2023. The museum will be open to the public from 11 AM to 5 PM. Tamar Garb, curator of the exhibition, will give a guided tour, followed by Q&A from 12 PM.

With more than one hundred photographs from The Walther Collection’s extensive holdings of works by Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt, this dialogic exhibition—curated by art historian Tamar Garb—is a curatorial experiment that seeks to scramble and destabilize such binaries, blurring their boundaries and unsettling their neat polarities through juxtaposition and paratactic play. Here Mofokeng and Goldblatt’s works are entangled, sometimes wrested from customary projects, chronologies, labels and oeuvres so that each image can be viewed anew, providing the possibility for unlikely synergies and slippages to emerge.

“Beyond the Binary” seeks to draw out the distinctiveness of each, and open dynamic spaces for re-evaluation and re-interpretation by interweaving the works of these extraordinary photographers.

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Finissage
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Curator Tour with Tamar Garb, 12 PM
Additional Guided Tours at 2 PM, 4 PM
All welcome. No booking required.

The Walther Collection
Museum Campus
Reichenauerstr. 21
89233 Neu-Ulm, Germany

Images:

09/13/2023

A wonderful morning spent looking at some vernacular photography with at our art storage in New York.

08/10/2023

We are pleased to share one of our latest acquisitions as we continue to expand our unique holdings of vernacular and nineteenth-century photography: an extraordinary miniature tintype portrait of a young woman of African descent made into a photographic jewelry necklace.

Likely created in the early to mid-1860s, the reverse of this antique sixteenth-plate portrait features several lines of handwriting in French on brown parchment paper, seemingly a casual exchange between friends or maybe lovers… Who was this beautiful young woman, so elegantly attired in her black high collar Victorian dress, puff sleeves, gold clasps at her neck? Pensive eyes averting the camera, contemplatively / self-possessively gazing somewhere – or perhaps at someone – beyond the frame … Who might have commissioned this evocative visual memento, and worn her likeness as a pendant? How did this artifact – her photographic portrait, darkly toned, encased in metal, preserved for over a century – come to double function as epistolary correspondence? What might her eyes have seen?

Text extract by from curatorial reflections in progress for our forthcoming publication currently in development – stay tuned …

Images: Courtesy of The Walther Collection, New York / Neu-Ulm

08/08/2023

Last week, we deinstalled our largest collection survey exhibition to date — “Trace: Formations of Likeness” — at Haus der Kunst in Munich. With over 3000 artworks to condition report, carefully pack and crate, we wish to thank our colleagues and Haus der Kunst’s dedicated conservation team for their hard work and commitment… It’s now time for the works to be returned to our art storage and let them rest for a little while – until our next travelling exhibition.

Thank you to all who visited Haus der Kunst to see our exhibition.

📷 .melek

Address

526 W 26th Street, Ste 718
New York, NY
10001

Website

http://www.walthercollection.com/

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Videos

Susanne Gaensheimer, director of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K20 & K21), reflects on The Walther Collection as one of the most significant collections focused on African and Asian photography worldwide, while also discussing the Kunstsammlung’s own mission to expand and diversify their holdings through new perspectives in order to generate a more polyphonic dialogue. More than 500 artworks from the Walther Collection are currently on display at K21 in Düsseldorf, in our most comprehensive traveling exhibition to date. To read more about “Shifting Dialogues: Photography from The Walther Collection,” visit our website: http://www.walthercollection.com “Shifting Dialogues: Photography from The Walther Collection” is on view until September 25 at K21 in Düsseldorf, Germany. #K21WaltherCollection #TheWaltherCollection #K21 #SusanneGaensheimer

Speaking from the exhibition “Shifting Dialogues: Photography from The Walther Collection” at K21, Artur Walther recalls his first exposure to photography from Africa nearly 25 years ago while visiting the exhibition “In/Sight: African Photographers, 1940 to the Present” at the Guggenheim in 1996, curated by the late Okwui Enwezor. The two – collector and curator – would reconnect in 2004 to travel across the African continent, meeting a diverse constituency of artists, scholars, and gallerists to conceive what later became the landmark exhibition “Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography” at New York’s ICP in 2006. In this deeply personal testimony, Artur Walther describes how his approach to collecting photography and lens-based media from Africa and its diaspora was fundamentally shaped by his friendship and long-term collaboration with Okwui Enwezor (1963 – 2019), guided by Enwezor’s expert knowledge, and ground-breaking curatorial and scholarly practice. “Shifting Dialogues: Photography from The Walther Collection” is on view until September 25 at K21, Düsseldorf. #K21WaltherCollection #TheWaltherCollection #K21 #arturwalther #okwuienwezor

While many of us find ourselves at home during these challenging times, it’s occasion to think about our interiors and domestic surroundings, as well as the political and economic implications of being at home and staying comfortably at home. This small vernacular photo album, likely compiled by a child, narrates a tour in black-and-white images of a midcentury suburban house, showcasing pride in the milestone achievement of middle-class family home ownership. * #artathome #museumathome #thewalthercollection #vernacularphotography

Life and Dreams: Sneak a peek

Noch eine Woche! Neben den regulären Öffnungszeiten – Donnerstag bis Sonntag, 14-17 Uhr – öffnen wir am 18. November alle drei Häuser von 13-17 Uhr. Zusätzlich wird es um 15 Uhr eine letzte öffentliche Führung durch die aktuelle Ausstellung geben. Wir freuen uns auf Euren Besuch! Only one week left! The last day to view the "Life and Dreams" exhibition is November 18, 2018. #inulmumulmundumulmherum

Life and Dreams

Keine Lust mehr auf die Temperaturen? Wie wär's mit einem Besuch unserer Ausstellung "Life and Dreams"? Abkühlung sowie spannende Themen zeitgenössischer chinesischer Fotografie und Medienkunst aus 30 Jahrzehnten gibt es jeden Donnerstag bis Sonntag, 14–17 Uhr. Zudem finden diese Woche zwei kostenfreie Führungen statt: am Freitag, 3.8., um 17 Uhr und Sonntag, 5.8., um 15 Uhr.

"Structures of Identity" at Foam, Amsterdam

Sneak a peek! Tomorrow, our traveling show "Structures of Identity" opens at Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam. Join us for the opening at 5:30pm if you happen to be in the city.

Life and Dreams

Noch nichts vor am Wochenende? Wir haben auch heute und morgen wieder von 14-17 Uhr geöffnet.

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The Walther Collection

The Walther Collection is an art foundation dedicated to the critical understanding of historical and contemporary photography and related media. Through a program of international exhibitions, in-depth collecting, original research, and scholarly publications, The Walther Collection aims to highlight the social uses of photography and to expand the history of the medium worldwide.

Where to Find Us

The Walther Collection Project Space 526 West 26th Street, Suite 718 New York, NY 10001, USA

The Walther Collection Project Space, with Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing, is pleased to present Day After Day: RongRong and the Beijing East Village. The exhibition features forty of RongRong's seminal photographs from 1993–1998 portraying the Beijing East Village—an artistic community poignantly described by Silvia Fok as “a meteor in the history of contemporary Chinese art.”