The exhibition, on view at the Museum of Photography from April 17 to October 10, is dedicated to the significant contributions of female photographers to the development of the medium since the early 20th century. It presents approximately 300 works from the collection of the Bauhaus Archive / Museum of Design, Berlin, showcasing the experimental and creative spectrum of Bauhaus female photographers. Supplemented by selected contemporary works, the exhibition fosters a dialogue between historical and current photographic practices.
Image above: Grit Kallin-Fischer, Self-portrait with cigarette, in 1928, Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin
Outstanding female photographers have existed since the invention of photography in the early 19th century. Many of them were pioneers in the field. They experimented with photographic and design techniques and explored the boundaries of the new medium. This was also true of the female photographers of the Bauhaus. They observed their surroundings through the camera lens, capturing numerous subjects from sometimes new and unusual perspectives. The spectrum of their artistic work ranges from representational portrait and architectural photography to abstract, experimental photography.
The exhibition at the Museum of Photography showcases approximately 300 photographs from the collection of the Bauhaus Archive / Museum of Design, Berlin. While the subjects are familiar to many today, their creators are known to only a few. With this exhibition, the Bauhaus Archive is presenting the significance of these artists and their photographic work in its first comprehensive exhibition. The photographs of the Bauhaus women are complemented by works from artists of the Institute of Design in Chicago (New Bauhaus), the successor institution to the Bauhaus in the USA.
Even in the 21st century, female artists engage with photography in diverse ways. Like the Bauhaus photographers, they too attempt to capture their present in photographic images, questioning the conventional forms of the medium. For the exhibition, the Bauhaus Archive invited three contemporary artists—Kalinka Gieseler, Caroline Kynast, and Sinta Werner—to enter into a dialogue with these historical positions through their work.
The artists in the exhibition:
Gertrud Arndt, Ellen Auerbach, Irene Bayer, Lotte Beese, Irena Blühovà, Marianne Brandt, Lotte Gerson-Collein, Barbara Crane (New Bauhaus), Margarete Dambeck-Keller, Charlotte Grunert, Ise Gropius, Toni von Haken-Schrammen, Florence Henri, Catherine Hinkle (New Bauhaus), Irene Hoffmann, Hilde Hubbuch, Grit Kallin-Fischer, Judit Kárász, Ivana Meller-Tomljenovic, Etel Mittag-Fodor, Lucia Moholy, Lony Neumann, Ricarda Schwerin, Ré Soupault, Grete Stern, Elsa Thiemann, Else Tholstrup (New Bauhaus), Mili Thompson (New Bauhaus) und Edith Tudor-Hart.
WHEN?
Opening: 16. April 2026, 7 pm
Exhibition dates: 17. April until 4. October 2026
WHERE?
Museum für Fotografie
Jebensstraße 2
10623 Berlin
