CONTINENT
In Search of Europe

Annette Hauschild, Crew monitoring the sea, Mission Lifeline, civilian rescue ship on the Mediterranean, 2017, from the series "The Helpers", 2016-2018 © Annette Hauschild/OSTKREUZ

11 February to 12 June 2022

Deutsche Börse AG, The Cube, Eschborn

In photographs by the 22 members of the Berlin-based OSTKREUZ agency, the exhibition examines the European living space and its people. The groups of work were specially created for the exhibition over the past eight years. They explore the question of how the European continent and its people’s coexistence may be shaped and evolve in the future. Personal, social and political aspects of togetherness are taken into account from a perspective that is critical while remaining empathetic. Themes such as identity, security, migration and integration as well as humanism, democracy and freedom of expression are examined. The focus of the photographic positions is mostly on images of people and their surroundings. The presentation thereby not only provides visual impetus for the current debate on Europe’s past and future, but can also be understood as a declaration of love for the continent. The exhibition is a cooperation betweeen the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, the OSTKREUZ agency, the Akademie der Künste and the curator Ingo Taubhorn.

OSTKREUZ was founded by seven renowned photographers from the former GDR in 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and has been run by its members ever since. Over the course of the agency’s history, which spans more than 30 years, its photographers have regularly taken a stand on contemporary social and political issues around the world in independent projects.

The works exhibited are by photographers Jörg Brüggemann, Espen Eichhöfer, Sibylle Fendt, Johanna-Maria Fritz, Annette Hauschild, Harald Hauswald, Heinrich Holtgreve, Tobias Kruse, Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler, Dawin Meckel, Thomas Meyer, Frank Schinski, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Ina Schoenenburg, Anne Schönharting, Linn Schröder, Stephanie Steinkopf, Mila Teshaieva, Heinrich Voelkel, Maurice Weiss, Sebastian Wells.

If you are curious for more information, visit the project website of the exhibition or listen to the exciting podcast series, that were initiated by the OSTKREUZ agency and the Akademie der Künste Berlin.