recommended is a fellowship for aspiring artistic photographers initiated by Olympus in 2017 in cooperation with the House of Photography/Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam and the Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF). The four partners aim with this fellowship to promote contemporary photography in the artistic field. The young photographers receive effective support at a crucial point in their careers. This includes in particular personal coaching by the experienced curators and the exhibitions hosted by the three institutions. In comparison to the fellows in 2017/2018, whose work was highly conceptual and engaged with photography as a medium, the 2019/2020 fellows share a more personal, documentary approach.
Tobias Kruse (b. 1979, Germany) studied graphic design and photography at the Ostkreuzschule and is a member of the photography agency Ostkreuz. He focuses on personal, artistic and documentary photo projects in which he “portrays the major social issues of our time with the explosive poetry inherent in his visual language”, in the words of Ingo Taubhorn, curator at the Haus der Photographie / Deichtorhallen Hamburg.
Mika Sperling (b. 1990, Russia) studied communication design at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and fine arts at the San Francisco Art Institute. In her biographical work, she examines her own experiences in an effort to understand the complexity of multiculturalism, identity and place. “Sperling represents a new generation of photo-essayists who combine historical references with new media in order to broaden interaction with the viewer,” emphasises Celina Lunsford, curator at FFF.
Karla Hiraldo Voleau (b. 1992, Dominican Republic) studied visual communication at the École de Condé in Paris and photography at the ECAL in Lausanne. Her works deal with issues of identity, vulnerability and love, as well as gender roles and the mechanisms at work in relationships between women and men. “She is her own protagonist, and this position makes her work deeply personal,” says Kim Knoppers, curator at Foam.
For more information on the fellows and their projects go to www.recommended.photo.
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