Giulia Thinnes
, it's easier for me like that
, 2023
Open day and portfolio review on 12th of October 2024
The Ostkreuzschule is one of the most important schools for documentary photography, artistic photography and photojournalism in Germany.
We define photography as a language and photographers as authors who face the world with a clear vision, exploring and portraying social, societal and political contexts.Together we constantly reflect and discuss the basics of our photographic work. In addition to this lively culture of debate, our teaching is based on a sound technical training, theoretical foundations and a strong practical focus.
Our teachers and graduates publish worldwide in the most important media, exhibit in major museums and galleries and are honored with the most prestigious awards.
The public school emerged from the renowned Ostkreuz agency. It was founded in 2004 by Werner Mahler and Thomas Sandberg, and its program was influenced by Prof. Ute Mahler, Sibylle Bergemann and Prof. Arno Fischer, among others. Since 2023, it is headed by Lia Darjes and Jörg Brüggemann.
Located in a lively backyard in Berlin-Weißensee, surrounded by artist studios, our campus provides classrooms, professional workshops, a photo studio and a beautiful auditorium. Here teachers and students can meet eye to eye in a personal and concentrated atmosphere. In addition to the three-and-a-half-year photography program and the one-and-a-half-year photography master class, we also offer the one-year photo editing program as well as a variety of seminars for those interested in photography.
In the Photography study program we train students to become professional photographers. The development of an own photographic handwriting and an impressive portfolio are the aim of the three-and-a-half-year course.
In the Foundation Class, the first two semesters, you will learn your basic photographic, technical, theoretical and creative skills, which you will deepen in the Advanced Class, the third and fourth semesters, during which you will create your first major projects. In the fifth semester, the Orientation Class, you will develop the concept of your graduation project, which you will produce and then present in the sixth and seventh semesters, the Graduation Class. These last three semesters are accompanied by advice and instructions for the first steps in the profession after your studies.
Unique to the Photography degree program at the Ostkreuzschule are the many practice-oriented cooperation projects which we initiate with magazines, museums and future clients. There are monthly evening lectures by renowned photographers and a close exchange and cooperation with the students of the Photo Editors Studies.
As a result, the Photography study program at the Ostkreuzschule qualifies you for the international photography market, regardless of whether you want to work in documentary, artistic or journalistic photography.
The Foundation Class lays the groundwork for your studies and lasts two semesters. Lessons take place in two classes with a maximum of 15 students. In the first semester you will focus on black and white photography, in the second on color photography. You will be given various photographic assignments and your results will be discussed together in class every fortnight. You will create your first serial work in portrait, reportage, landscape and architectural photography, conceptual photography and your first still lives.
At the same time, you will learn the basics of analogue and digital photography techniques and how to work in a photo studio. You will learn about the history of photography as well as the basics of design. You will also visit photo exhibitions in Berlin together as a class, go on a class trip with the whole year group and have the opportunity to work together with students of the Photo Editing Program, which includes the monthly ‘Stammtisch’ of the Ostkreuzschule.
In the Advanced Class, the third and fourth semesters, the substantive aspects of photography become more important and your personal visual language takes centre stage. You create your first complex photo projects, while learning the necessary creative and research techniques.
You will expand your technical skills in analogue and digital photo technology as well as in the photo studio and deepen your knowledge of photographic history and design. In addition, the various forms of publishing photography will now also become a topic and you will continue to visit monthly photo exhibitions in Berlin.
The opportunity to realize the first professional exhibition and publication projects with external cooperation partners of the Ostkreuzschule often arises during Advanced Class. In addition, you now work even more frequently on joint projects with the students on the Photo Editors Studies.
Orientation Class At the beginning of the Orientation Class, your class is reshuffled and divided from two into three groups with ten students each. Together with your teacher, you will develop the topic and photographic concept for your graduation project. Alongside this, you will be taught the necessary photographic theory. You will further develop your photographic style through additional tasks. In several workshops on topics such as photography law, job acquisition, portfolio design, taxes and accounting, we will also prepare you for your future work as a freelance photographer. At the end of the Orientation Class, you apply for the Graduatian Class with the concept of your final project and your first photographic sketches.
In your final year of study, the sixth and seventh semesters, you will photograph and present your graduation project. You will receive intensive support from your teacher and your class. At the same time, you will study the technical and conceptual basics of various forms of presentation in photography - including photo books, exhibitions and digital forms of presentation. Our guest lecturers for vocational training will also teach you everything you need to know about the editorial, advertising and art markets, as well as future project funding opportunities such as prizes, competitions, scholarships, residencies and festivals. During the final year a class trip will take place.
You present your finished final project in an exhibition and/or in the form of a photo book, as conclusion of your studies. Most year groups decide to organize a large joint final exhibition in Berlin, which - as a nationally recognized presentation platform - will facilitate your entry into professional life.
You can apply via the application form at the bottom of this website. In addition to your personal details, we need your CV, a letter of motivation and your photographic portfolio, which you can either upload to our Dropbox in PDF format (the upload link can also be found below) or print out and send to us. The application deadline for the Photography Studies is 10.11.2024. All your documents must have reached us by then. We will get back to you within two weeks of the application deadline.
If you are selected in this first step, you will receive a photographic assignment from us, which you will bring and present at a personal interview at the Ostkreuzschule on December 7th 2024. You will then find out whether you have been accepted for the photography study program. If you are accepted, your studies will begin in March 2025.
If you already have photographic skills and previous knowledge, you can also apply for a higher semester. Such a lateral entry is also possible for the second or fourth semester in the winter term, which begins in September. Please apply to us as described above and mark the relevant position in the applicationform. After a personal interview we will decide whether you can actually enter a higher semester.
In most cases, however, we recommend starting in the Foundation Class and attending all semesters of the program. This way, you will actually learn all the important issues and have enough time to develop your own photographic style.
Your school-graduation certificate is (basically) irrelevant to us. We are only interested in your photographic interest and talent.
However, you must be of legal age to apply for the Ostkreuzschule. There is no top age limit. In terms of age structure our class groups are typically more diverse than at other universities. In our classes, different generations, life experiences and perspectives meet, learn together and exchange ideas.
An internship is not compulsory either before or during your studies. However, we recommend that you gain your first professional experience from the Advanced class onwards. Our alumni network can help you make the right contacts.
What qualification do you obtain? After your training, you will receive a certificate from us, but not a university degree in the traditional sense, as the Ostkreuzschule is a private school and is not run by a state organisation. Therefore, as a student at Ostkreuzschule, you are unfortunately not entitled to BAföG.
Experience has shown that graduating from a state institution gives you no advantage for your later work as a photographer. What counts is your graduation project, your portfolio and the reputation of the Ostkreuzschule.
A semester at the Ostkreuzschule lasts five months. The summer semesters run from March to July and the winter semesters from September to February. Semester breaks are from mid-July to mid-September as well as over Christmas and from mid-February to mid March.
The Foundation Class begins with two to three weeks of lessons in a row. After that, your lessons take place every fortnight for three to five days in a block. This means that there are usually alternating weeks of classes and weeks without classes. In addition to the on-site classes, you should plan two to three days per teaching block for independent photographic work. This includes practicing photography techniques on your own and applying and increasing the software skills that we teach you in class.
Overall, you can expect a time commitment that allows you to do a job on the side. In the Orientation and Graduating Classes, you will have fewer lessons but more time to photograph your final project. The final project itself is created outside of class hours and takes different amounts of time depending on the concept.
The Ostkreuzschule has a digital lab with scanners, printers and computer workstations equipped with the latest photo and design software. Here you can scan, edit and print your pictures to a professional standard. We also have an analogue black and white and color darkroom, a photo studio with its own free photo equipment lending service and an extensive library of photo books, which is constantly (being) expanded. You can use all the workstations in our workshops during your studies free of charge or at the cost of materials 24/7.
You are welcome to visit us at any time during our terms. Please contact us in advance by e-mail or telephone. Even better if you come to our Open Day on October 12th 2024. On this day, teaching staff and students will be available to answer all your questions. On this day, we will also present current work by students of the Ostkreuzschule. In addition, we (will) offer you the opportunity for a portfolio consultation on this day, for which you can register via our applicationform.
Foundation Class €2,580 (incl. 19% VAT) per semester for 35 teaching days
Advanced Class € 2,300 (incl. 19% VAT) per semester for 32 teaching days
Orientation Class € 2,100 (incl. 19% VAT) for one semester with 22 teaching days
Graduating Class € 2,100 (incl. 19% VAT) per semester for 22 teaching days
A total of €16,060 (incl. 19% VAT) for seven semesters with 200 teaching days You will receive a separate contract from us for each class, so you are committed for a maximum of one year. There is the option of a monthly payment or a one-off payment at the beginning of the academic year, where you will receive a 3% discount.
Before you start your studies, you should buy your own analogue and digital SLR or system camera with interchangeable lenses. At the beginning of your studies these do not have to be professional models; such a purchase usually only pays off later. We have an internal blackboard where you can purchase many things from your fellow students at lower prices. You will also need a computer.
As a student at Ostkreuzschule, you can purchase many of the software entries you need for your work at a student discount. You must cover the costs of material such as analogue films, photographic chemicals and paper yourself. The items you use in our workshops, such as printer paper and ink, will be charged at material cost price. Experience has shown that these costs amount to between €50 and €100 a month.
There is a class trip in both the Foundation and Graduating Classes, which usually costs around €100. Your class graduation exhibition is financially supported by the Ostkreuzschule, but is largely organized and financed by your class. The costs vary depending on the chosen exhibition venue and the type of exhibition. The decision on this is up to you and the fellow students in your class.
What makes a good picture? How do I tell a story with pictures? What narrative forms are there to visualize recurring, socially relevant topics in such a way that they are seen? These are the fundamental questions that you will explore in the Photo Editors Class.
The Ostkreuzschule is the only training centre in Germany to offer this program. In two semesters, you will acquire the most important skills that visual experts need for their work. In the Photo Editors Class, you will learn about current trends and debates in photography, especially in photojournalism and documentary photography, and discuss them with your teachers and in class. You will utilize the synergies within the group and the entire school to deepen your visual memory and understanding.
In lessons with Nadja Masri, the head of the program, as well as with the numerous guest lecturers, the different genres in photography are covered and national and international photographers and agencies are introduced. You will also carry out numerous image searches, assess individual images and stories and edit and discuss sequences of images for different outlets with your fellow students. You will learn how to assess portfolios and proposals, research topics and brief photographers.
You will familiarize yourself with the most important digital tools and gain an insight into the world of AI. You will complete a writing workshop, try out daily newspaper production, learn how to keyword images, the basics of media law and fact checking. You will also gain an insight into the processes of curating, explore the medium of the photo book and learn about the history of photography.
You will deepen your practical knowledge in numerous projects together with photography students of the Ostkreuzschule, the ICP in New York and the Portraits-Hellerau Photography Award. This will enable you to build up a valuable, extensive network during your studies.
You apply via the application form at the bottom of this website. In addition to your personal details, we need your CV and a letter of motivation, which you can either upload them to our Dropbox in PDF format (you will find the upload link below) or print them out and send them to us. The application deadline for the Photo Editors Studies is November 10th 2024, by which time all your documents must have reached us. We will get back to you within two weeks of the application deadline.
If you are selected in this first step, we will send you documents that you should prepare for a personal interview on December 7th 2024. After this interview, we will let you know whether you have been accepted to the program. The program starts in March 2025.
Your school-leaving certificate and age are not important to us. What we are interested in is your (interest and) passion for photography and the desire to work professionally with images. However, you must be at least 21 years old to study photo editing. An internship is not required either before or during the program.
After your training, you will receive a certificate from us, but not a university degree in the traditional sense, as the Ostkreuzschule is a public school and is not run by the state. Therefore, as a student at Ostkreuzschule, you are unfortunately not entitled to BAföG.
Graduates of the Photo Editing degree program work nationally and internationally for important magazines, museums and artists. Our extensive alumni network can help you to make contacts for your career start.
There is a maximum of 14 students in your class. The group is typically diverse in terms of age and biographies, which makes the class very exciting. Everyone is united by a passion for photography and the desire to professionalize their skills.
If you are accepted, your studies will begin in mid-March 2025. Classes take place once a month as a six-day block seminar, usually from Sunday to Friday. The program ends after ten block seminars in February 2026 with a final presentation and the awarding of the certificate. Semester breaks are from mid-July to mid-September and from mid-December to mid-January.
You should expect to spend around two to four additional working days per month working independently on assignments and projects. Overall, you can expect a time commitment that allows you to combine studying at the Ostkreuzschule with a job and your family.
4,600.00 (incl. 19% VAT) for 10 block seminars with a total of 60 teaching days or € 460.00 per monthly block seminar (incl. 19% VAT) with six teaching days each. If you pay the annual fee in advance, you will receive a 3% discount. The contract does not include a cancellation period.
In recent years, we have always initiated a photo book project in cooperation with the graduates of the Ostkreuzschule and the ICP in New York and presented it at a book launch in Berlin at the end of the academic year. Although this project is financially supported by both schools, it is produced and mostly financed by you. You can obtain a press pass from us for €80.00, which gives you free entry to many museums.
In the Photography Masterclass, you will develop a new, extensive photographic project over three semesters. You will be supervised by Prof Linn Schröder and Ingo Taubhorn in a class of no more than 15 students. The aim is to find and develop your individual photographic style. The basis for this is an intensive tutoring and discussion about photography and the presented images. The masterclass deepens and expands your knowledge and photographic skills.
From concept to capturing to presentation, you will expand your knowledge and skills, which are necessary for the creation of a long-term photo project. Working on your projects will be accompanied by constant discourse on contemporary photography and the classics. In some block seminars, a photographer, a curator, a publisher or a gallery owner will be present as guest.
The application deadline for the photography master class is in November 2025. You apply with your CV, if available with your final certificate of your photography studies and your final thesis as a PDF document or with your portfolio and an exposé of the planned new project (max. 1 A4 page) via our applicationform. We will get back to you within two weeks of the application deadline. If you are selected in this first step, we will invite you to a personal interview at the Ostkreuzschule. You will then find out whether you have been accepted onto the photography masterclass. Your studies will then begin in March 2026.
After your training, you will receive a certificate from us, but not a university degree in the traditional sense, as the Ostkreuzschule is a public school and is not run by a state organisation. Therefore, as a student at Ostkreuzschule, you are unfortunately not entitled to BAföG. However, experience has shown that it is irrelevant for your later work as a photographer whether you have graduated from a state institution. What counts is your final thesis, your portfolio and the reputation of the Ostkreuzschule, its teachers and its previous graduates.
The photography masterclass takes place in seven three-day block seminars, usually from Friday to Sunday, over the course of three semesters. If you are planning a joint exhibition of your completed work, the last block seminar will be dedicated to curation and hanging. You will photograph your work outside of the block seminars. This requires a certain amount of time, depending on your concept and working method. Overall, you can expect to spend enough time to complete the masterclass alongside your job and family.
The Ostkreuzschule has a digital workshop with scanners, printers and computer workstations equipped with the latest photo and design software. We also have an analogue black and white and color laboratory, a photo studio with its own photo equipment lending service and an extensive photo book library. (However,) the workshops and laboratories at the Ostkreuzschule are mainly used by students on the photography program, however can also be used by students of the photography master class, depending on availability (and agreement??) and a corresponding introductory appointment for a fee.
You are welcome to visit us at any time during the semester. Please register in advance by e-mail or telephone. It is even better if you come to our open day on October 12th 2024. On this day, teaching staff and students will be available to answer all your questions. On this day, we will also present current work that has been produced during (your?) studies at Ostkreuzschule. We also offer you the opportunity to register for a portfolio consultation via our applicationform.
The Photography Masterclass costs 3,465.00 including 19% VAT for seven block seminars of three days each 1,365.00 due on enrollment and €300.00 two weeks before the start of each block seminar.
If you pay the total amount (once), you (will) receive a 3% discount. The contract does not include a cancellation period. Cancellation is only possible in exceptional cases such as illness (and will be checked by the school?).
You cover the costs of your photo equipment, computer and software licences, consumables and any travel expenses. If you use our workshops, we will charge for working material such as printer paper and ink. One of the seven block seminars is typically used for a class trip, which (usually) costs around 150.00. If you would like a press card, you can obtain one from us for €80.00 per year. Standardly the photography master class ends with a joint exhibition of the final projects, which you organize and finance yourself. The costs (incurred here) vary depending on the chosen exhibition venue and form. The decision on this is up to you and your fellow students in your masterclass.
"[They] teach more than just photography." This is how photographer Anne Schwalbe describes the artist and lecturer couple Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler. Together, they have shaped the teaching at the Ostkreuzschule for over 20 years. Now they are offering a new, exclusive class.
The Mahler’s Class offers the opportunity to be supported and guided by Ute and Werner Mahler over a period of one year in the development and realisation of their own photo project. The course days take place in their house, the centre of their work and life in the middle of the pine forest in the north of Berlin, which they have gradually transformed into their studio and archive and which now houses the life's work of three photographers. They have created a place there that enables a balance between inspiration and relaxation, giving the class a special learning experience. In a class of a maximum of ten participants, the Mahlers will focus on developing and deepening the photographers' visual language and accompany and support planned photographic projects through to the presentation form. At the same time, they will provide an insight into their place of work, their own approach and their art.
With their photographic work, as teachers and co-founders of the renowned agency Ostkreuz and the Ostkreuzschule, Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler are among the most important personalities in German photography. After studying at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts, they both pursued their photographic careers independently of each other with different focuses. In 2008, they decided to photograph under one authorship. In their joint long-term projects, they address current political, social and personal conditions.
You apply via the application portal on this website with a portfolio and a brief concept outlining which project is to be realised in the joint year. The application deadline is 14 July 2024, after which we will select the participants and get back to you within two weeks of the application deadline.
The Mahler’s Class takes place on ten course days every month on a Saturday over a period of one year. The first day of the course is on 07.09.2024, the second on 19.10.2024. All subsequent dates will be mutually agreed with the course participants.
The participation fee is €2,500 (incl. 19% VAT).€1,000 is due upon conclusion of the contract and €150 2 weeks before the next course day. If you pay the total amount once, you will receive a 3% discount.
In addition to the support and supervision of your photo project by the Mahlers, high-quality food and drinks are also provided during the course days. If you are travelling by train, a shuttle service to and from Lehnitz or Oranienburg S-Bahn station is included.
These seminars are an offer for all those who want to improve their photographic skills over the course of a year. They are aimed at anyone interested in photography as well as students and professionals.
Together with our lecturers and the class group, you will deepen and expand your photographic knowledge and experience. The aim is to develop and realise your own photographic project. Your individual artistic expression is particularly encouraged.
The content of the seminars is also dynamically tailored to the needs and knowledge of the participants. You can find more information in the seminar descriptions of the individual lecturers.
In recent years, most seminars have ended with joint exhibitions. In addition, participants are invited to take part in the school's internal cultural programme.
The seminars run from autumn or spring with 10 dates over the course of a year. Which seminars will take place from spring 2025 will be available here from November 2024.
Annette Hauschild
Evening Seminar
"The seminar begins with an examination of one's perspective of the world. It is aimed at artists who want to work intensively on a project over a longer period of time. Together we will stimulate each other in developing an individual approach. There are no limits to the photographic genre. What is important is the willingness to work independently and to familiarize yourself deeply with a specific topic. It goes without saying that we will always contextualize our topics, so contemporary and classic examples of photography will accompany our seminar. I want to encourage confidence in your own abilities and interests and create space for creative exchange. At the end of the year, the resulting projects could be presented in an exhibition. The development of a suitable form of presentation is part of the seminar."
Annette Hauschild has been photographing commissioned work and freelance long-term projects for almost thirty years. She moves effortlessly between journalism and art, magazine and museum, documentation and free interpretation.
Sven Marquardt
Weekend Seminar
"For me, people/portraits have always been at the centre of my photographic production. In the beginning, it was a timid attempt at staging, but for several years now I've been moving more and more towards conceptual photography. But there are as many different truths and visions as there are people and images. In my weekend seminar, I would like to strengthen your very personal visual language, your own visions and develop your self-confidence in your own photographic work. I like contrasts and, in the best case, these lead to a wonderful creative exchange. The idea of organizing an exhibition together at the end of a seminar should develop bit by bit."
Sven Marquardt works as a photographer and has been firmly anchored in the Berlin club scene for three decades now. He grew up in East Berlin and was influenced by the punk and new wave of the 80s. His first photographs were taken around Prenzlauer Berg. The photographer Helga Paris became his mentor at the end of the 80s. After reunification, he initially devoted himself entirely to Berlin's up-and-coming nightlife until he returned to photography at the end of the 90s.
Loredana Nemes
Weekend Seminar
"The translation of the world into images is so diverse and exciting that it should be the subject of my seminar. Each of your topics requires its own language. I am always interested in topics that concern me personally, pose unresolved questions or draw me into areas that are unknown to me. So I look forward to your questions and to finding a photographic language in dialogue with you in order to make your content visible and tangible. In doing so, I am always aware of a tradition, so that looking back at great masters is just as much a part of it as exploring literature, which is always an important source of inspiration. Our collaboration should culminate in an exhibition, because thinking about a form of presentation, size, framing and material are just as relevant steps as thinking about content or camera type."
Loredana Nemes has been working as an artist with photography and poetic texts since 2001. In long-term projects, she develops themes that are inspired by life and its episodes. The human being as an individual, his relationships, his role in social networks and his fragility are themes that drive her. The aim of her work is to find images for feelings such as greed, fear, love or the beguiling disorder of life that carry this energy and reflect the medium of photography.
Ina Schoenenburg
Weekend Seminar
"Our weekend seminar is dedicated to the photographic portrait. We will try to progress from the external appearance to the essence of the person portrayed, always in the context of their social and personal environment. We will embark on a search for beauty in the everyday, the uniqueness of the individual. We will also look at different styles in portrait photography. Both the staged and the naturalistic portrait will play a role. Historical photographic examples from different eras will illustrate this. The knowledge acquired should enable participants to present the topic as a serial work in a possible joint exhibition. One focus of my own photographic work is man in his relationship to landscape and nature. My approach ranges from documentary observation to staging. I am interested in the conflicts of my protagonists, their interpersonal relationships and their relationship to their environment. With insights into everyday situations, I want to show intimate privacy that avoids voyeurism and respects personality."
Ina Schönenburg studied at the Ostkreuz School of Photography from 2009 to 2012. She has been a member of the Ostkreuz Agency since 2016. In addition to her many successes as a documentary photographer, she has also been teaching the graduating classes at Ostkreuz School since 2019.
Nikita Teryoshin
Weekend Seminar
"In the „Surprise, Surprise - The Radical Reportage“ seminar, we try to shed light on lesser-known topics and contexts that are problematic in society or to present well-known topics in a radical way. Thus we break with the conventions and expectations of classic documentary photography and take a playful approach to the medium. The surprising approach or the unexpected twist is intended in order to reach a broader audience and draw attention to things. At the end of the seminar there is the possibility of (producing a zine? and/or) organizing a group exhibition. During the ten months, we will also look at the work of other artists and learn more about everyday life as a photojournalist. Participants should definitely have the time and passion to work independently between sessions. The aim is not to work on topics that are currently 'selling well', the decisive factor is a sincere interest in the chosen topics. The approach is worked out together in the course."
Nikita Teryoshin describes his photographic work as a mixture of 'Street, Documentary & Everyday Horror'. He works as a photojournalist and his work has been acclaimed worldwide in publications and exhibitions.
Mustafah Abdulaziz
Weekend Seminar
„Our seminar Concept to Completion will explore the work and creative methods of making long-term documentary photography projects. This seminar will explore how creating meaningful projects is a reflection of the individual’s unique experiences, their evolution across a period of time. And the fostering of personal vision and humanistic understanding of the subject matter creates a photographic voice that can be applied to the world around them. We will begin with a combination of conceptual theory and the selection of topics, followed by research and development with practical organization and logistical skills. We will endeavor to combine the conceptual with the day-to-day challenges and apply what we discuss and learn actively in the work each participant creates. We will touch on how communication, sequence & narrative editing, grant writing, and unorthodox project pitching can form a project’s backbone for gathering support in a saturated market. Participants are encouraged to bring existing projects or use this seminar as a jumping-off point for new work. The goal of the year is to assist participants in developing practical techniques that are specific to their style and direction, whilst helping to reveal where future work needs to be done."
Born in New York, Mustafah Abdulaziz is a Berlin-based photographer and director. For more than ten years, his work has focussed on the effects of climate change on people. His large-scale installations confront the public worldwide with vital stories. This seminar is held exclusively in English. The seminar has been running since March 2024 and registrations are no longer possible. The plans for the seminars starting in March 2025 can be viewed here from November.
Jessica Backhaus
Weekend Seminar
"Visual poetry, color and intuition. It is through these elements that I will invite the participants of the seminar to reconsider the potential that lies in (the) simple things. The composition of an image, visual poetry, the creation of a photo book and the careful preparation of an exhibition are all aspects that will be covered during the seminar. Part of the seminar will also be dedicated to presenting my own inspirations, which are alive and important to me. The seminar is intended to provide a space for creative exchange. One of the aims is to encourage the participants to find and develop their very own visual language. At the end of the year, there will be an exhibition which presents the resulting images."
Jessica Backhaus is considered one of the most important representatives of contemporary photography in Germany. She is a representative of abstract photography, but never loses sight of reality and its natural phenomena. Form, light and color describe the visual history of Jessica Backhaus in a concise and completely natural way. The seminar has been running since March 2024 and registrations are no longer possible. The plans for the seminars starting in March 2025 can be viewed here from November.
Tobias Kruse
Weekend Seminar
"My seminar deals with contemporary documentary photography and its limits. For this purpose, a self-selected - or, if desired, a predetermined - topic is worked on; the basis can be an interesting theory, a text or a vague project idea. At the beginning of the process, the question of whether and why a topic is relevant and/or photographically interesting is examined from various perspectives. The aim is always to leave the habits in one's own work and to expand one's own visual language. The individual approach visibly conveys the personal attitude towards the subject matter. At the end of the year, each participant will have created an intensive, personal and surprising work. At the end of the seminar, the works are presented together - the consideration of what the right form of presentation might be is part of the seminar."
Tobias Kruse himself is a graduate of the Ostkreuzschule. He studied with Ute Mahler in the first year and with Arno Fischer in the masterclass. He grew up in Mecklenburg and has been a Berliner by choice for over 20 years. His photographs and visual language are emotional, affirmative and at the same time documentary, both in commissioned work and in independent projects. The seminar has been running since March 2024 and registrations are no longer possible. The plans for the seminars starting in March 2025 can be viewed here from November.
Anne Schönharting
Weekend Seminar
"We look at the outside world through the eye of a camera. We try to capture or stage reality, the event, the person, the object, the landscape, a feeling, etc. in snapshots. Is this a reflection of the world or does it also tell us about ourselves and our point of view? I see photography as an entry ticket to work on and penetrate a theme of this outside world. In my seminar, we take up the challenge together of questioning traditional historical narratives and, in doing so, of breaking down the separation between author and depicted, reality and the imaginary. If the specific and thorough investigations in the form of images also reveal something universally valid, that would be a wonderful result. A central element of this one-year seminar is to awaken enthusiasm for a topic and to keep 'thinking in images' alive. This happens through the experience of actively working on a topic over the long term. Inspiration from the most diverse directions of photography, the visual arts, but also from literature, philosophy, sociology etc. can play a role here. Circling around an idea, penetrating, working through and changing perspectives will be practiced in image discussions as well as in individual and group discussions. To clarify one's own project idea, we start by working with a special form of discussion based on the dialogue principle and the intelligence of the group. The aim for the participants is to develop a new series or to continue and complete work that has already been started. The finished or started project can be presented and exhibited at the end of the seminar( by arrangement).“
Anne Schönharting has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 1999. In her long-term artistic projects, she devotes herself to a wide variety of themes and moves between the genres of portrait, artistic documentary photography, fashion and social study. (What is) Special about her photography is that she implements the historical background of her subjects in the image with great ease. The seminar has been running since March 2024 and registrations are no longer possible. The plans for the seminars starting in March 2025 can be viewed here from November.
You apply via the application form at the bottom of this website. In addition to your personal details, we need a letter of motivation and a photographic portfolio, which you can either upload to our Dropbox in PDF format (you will also find the link below) or print out and send to us. The application deadline for the seminars starting in fall 2024 is 21.7.2024. All your documents must have reached us by then. We will get back to you within two weeks of the application deadline.
The weekend seminars Sven Marquardt, Loredana Nemes, Ina Schoenenburg and Nikita Teryoshin take place on ten full-day dates each month over the course of a year. The evening seminar will take place on 20 dates every 14 days for four hours on a weekday evening. All start in fall 2024 and run until summer 2025.
The first two dates for Annette Hauschild's seminar are 17.9. and 1.10.24.
The first five dates for Sven Marquardt's seminar are 21.9., 26.10., 23.11., 21.12.24 and 25.1.25
The first five dates for Loredana Nemes's seminar are 15.9., 6.10., 17.11., 15.12.24 and 19.1.25.
The first five dates for Ina Schoenenburg's seminar are 19.10.24, 23.11.24, 14.12.24, 18.01.25 and 22.02.24.
The first five dates for Nikita Teryoshin's seminar are 28.9., 26.10., 30.11.24, 11.01. and 8.2.25.
The following five dates will be arranged and announced during the first course days.
The participation fee is € 1,200 (incl. 19% VAT). Ten monthly payments of € 120 (incl. 19% VAT) are possible. If you pay the total amount in one installment, you will receive a 3% discount.
Our teachers are nationally and internationally recognised artists of contemporary photography, some are members of the renowned Ostkreuz agency, others come from other fields. All of them are professional photographers, designers or theorists and have published worldwide in the most important magazines and journals, exhibited in major museums and galleries and been honoured with prestigious awards.
Prof. Peter Bialobrzeski
Photography
Photography Orientation Class and Graduation Class
Born in Wolfsburg in 1961, he lives in Hamburg. Peter Bialobrzeski studied politics and sociology before becoming a local reporter in his native city. After studying photography in Essen and London, he joined the laifagency in 1994 and initially worked for national and international magazines before beginning to publish his projects in book form at the end of the 1990s. His 34th monograph was published in spring 2024. He was appointed Professor of Photography at the HfK Bremen in 2002 and taught there until 2021. He has won two World Press Photo Awards and was honored with the Dr Erich Salomon Prize of the DGPh in 2012. His photographs have been shown worldwide in solo and group exhibitions and can be found in numerous private and public collections. He is represented by Galerie Peter Sillem in Frankfurt am Main, Galerie Robert Morat in Berlin and Laurence Miller Gallery in New York. His photographs negotiate complexity and abstraction and the way we once were, for he places photography in a historic context. Since retiring from active university service, he has worked as a freelance artist, photographer, curator and lecturer at the Ostkreuzschule.
Jörg Brüggemann
Photography
Foundation Class
Born 1979 in Herne, he lives in Berlin. One year after completing his photography studies at the HfK Bremen under Prof. Peter Bialobrezski in 2008, Jörg Brüggemann joined the Ostkreuz agency. He was its Co-Managing Director from 2018 to 2023. In his freelance work, for which he finds his own photographic language each time, he deals with themes such as globalization, identity and trauma. He has published several monographs, including Metalheads, Autobahn and Freundschaft together with Tobias Kruse. After participating in numerous national and international exhibitions, he had his first institutional solo exhibition at zephyr in Mannheim in 2020 with Wie lange noch? Until 2019, he worked as a magazine photographer for Zeit Magazin, Geo, Monocle and Dummy, among others. Since 2018, he has worked as a theatre photographer for Schauspielhaus Bochum and Berliner Ensemble, for which he published a book on Barry Kosky's new production of ‚The Threepenny Opera‘ with Spector Books in 2021. Since 2019, he has been a lecturer in photography at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie, which he has co-directed with Lia Darjes since 2023.
Cale Garrido
Exhibiting/Curating
Orientation class and Graduation class
Born 1990 in Spain, she lives in Hamburg. Cale Garrido is a freelance curator, author and photo editor. She specializes in contemporary photography with a focus on socio-political and environmental issues. She works internationally on exhibitions and publications. From 2016 to 2020 she worked as a photo editor at Greenpeace Media. As a curator, she has organized exhibitions in museums, galleries and festivals, including 2019's Die Anderen sind Wir. Images of a Dissonant Society at the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art in Cottbus, 2019 Urgent Arts of Living at the Kaunas Photography Gallery and 2021 Joan Fontcuberta: Crisis of History as part of the 12th Biennale dell'immagine di Chiasso. She was co-curator of the Triennale der Photographie Hamburg 2022 and the RAW Photo Triennale Worpswede 2023. Garrido is the editor of several photo books, most recently Women's Workshop. In addition to the Ostkreuzschule, she also teaches at the Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Lia Darjes
Photography
Foundation class
Born 1984 in Berlin, she lives in Hamburg. Lia Darjes studied photography at the HAW Hamburg under Prof. Ute Mahler. From 2012 to 2017 she was a member of the Parisian photo agency Picturetank. During this time, she worked mainly as a photojournalist on assignments and on freelance documentary projects. She often focussed on the media representation of Muslim people and the attempt to break down the established stereotypes associated with this. At the same time, Lia Darjes assisted in the archive of the late photographer Ludwig Schirmer, who had become known as an advertising photographer in the GDR. From 2016 to 2018, she took part in the masterclass of Prof. Ute Mahler and Ingo Taubhorn at the Ostkreuzschule as a tutor. The resulting work Tempora Morte, which she published in book form in 2018, became well-known. She is represented by Galerie Robert Morat in Berlin. She has been working as a lecturer since 2018 and has been running the Ostkreuzschule together with Jörg Brüggemann since 2023.
Sibylle Fendt
Photography
Orientation and Graduation class
Born 1974 in Karlsruhe, she lives in Berlin. Sibylle Fendt received her degree in photography at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences in 2002. She has won numerous national and international awards for her graduation project Uneins. In 2003 she was part of the World Press Photo Masterclass. From 2003 to 2005, she was a guest student in Wolfgang Tillmans' class at the Freie Kunstakademie Frankfurt. She has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 2010 and its managing director since 2023. Sibylle Fendt photographs for magazines, teaches photography at several universities and works continuously on independent long-term projects that are exhibited nationally and internationally and are published. Her themes are social exclusion, gender studies, psychological, social and health crises as well as ordinary life. The portrait is at the centre of her work. She has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2008.
Jürgen Gebhardt
Photo Studio
Foundation class
Born in Jena in 1957, lives in Berlin. After completing his apprenticeship as an electronics technician, Jürgen Gebhardt initially worked at the Landesbühnen Sachsen from 1977. He completed his studies in film and television technology at the Babelsberg Film Academy in 1982. He then began studying photography at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig under Arno Fischer. During this time, he was an assistant in Ludwig Schirmer's photo studio in Berlin and showed his work in solo and group exhibitions as well as in book form. Since 1987, Jürgen Gebhardt has worked as a freelance photographer in areas such as museum photography, advertising and event photography. He was the official photographer of Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Federal President Johannes Rau. From 2006 to 2008, he taught at the Schwerin Design School. He has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2008.
Göran Gnaudschun
Photography
Photography Orientation and Graduation class
Born 1971 in Potsdam, he lives in Berlin. Göran Gnaudschun studied fine art photography under Professor Timm Rautert at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig from 1994 to 2003 and then studied fine art as his master student. In 2016/17, he received a scholarship from the German Academy Villa Massimo in Rome and was awarded the Brandenburg Art Prize in 2018. He received the HannoverShots scholarship from the Hannover Foundation in 2015, the kunstfonds working scholarship in 2013 and the Lotto Brandenburg Art Prize for Photography in 2012. He has had solo exhibitions at venues including the Haus am Kleistpark in Berlin, the Villa Massimo Gallery in Rome and the Stadtmuseum München. His book Alexanderplatz, about young people who have fallen out of society, attracted a great deal of attention in 2014. He is represented by Galerie Poll in Berlin and has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2018.
Thomas Gust
Photobook and Phototopics
Orientation and Graduation class
Born 1972 in Bautzen, he lives in Berlin. Thomas Gust studied stage design at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee and has been working as publishing director and designer for the photo book publisher Buchkunst Berlin since 2018. Since 2021, he has managed the gallery and agency of the same name together with Ana Druga. He has given guest lectures and workshops at the Berlin University of the Arts, the International Centre of Photography in New York, Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, the Deichtorhallen Hamburg and many other photographic institutions. Thomas Gust is a member of the DGPh and the German Photographic Academy. He has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2017.
Heinrich Holtgreve
Digital consultation
Graduation class
Born in 1987 in Bochum, he lives in Hamburg and Berlin. Heinrich Holtgreve completed his photography degree at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld in 2013. He has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 2016. His long-term project Das Internet als Ort has been exhibited at venues such as the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the Deutsches Technikmuseum as part of the permanent exhibition Das Netz and at the Photo21 festival in Melbourne. He is publishing the current chapter of the project in collaboration with Moritz Metz in the form of the podcast Internet Explorers. In addition to commissioned work for media such as Die Zeit, GEO, SZ Magazin and The Guardian, he works for clients in the cultural sector such as Urbane Künste Ruhr and Kunstmuseum Bochum. Since the beginning of 2023, he has been leading workshops on 'AI and photography'. After teaching at the HAW Hamburg, FH Bielefeld and the HfK Bremen, he has been a lecturer and workshop leader at the Ostkreuzschule since 2021.
Dr. Enno Kaufhold
History of Photography
Foundation + Advanced class
Born in Wildeshausen in 1944, he grew up in Dötlingen and has lived in Berlin since 1990. After completing his secondary education, he first studied art history and sociology and then, from 1975, photography history at the University of Hamburg, where he gained his doctorate in 1984. He is a self-taught photographer. Since completing his studies, he has worked as a freelance photographic historian, photographer, publicist and curator. His publishing activities, primarily on photography-related topics, include more than 500 articles in a wide variety of books, catalogues and periodicals. He has published his own books on Heinrich Zille, Martin Munkácsi, Christian Schad, Willy Römer, the Bielefeld School and his own photographs of St Pauli. He was active as a curator throughout Europe. From 1997 he taught at the HTW Berlin, the VHS Kreuzberg and the Fachhochschule Bielefeld. Since founding the Ostkreuzschule in 2005, he has taught the history of photography there. To this day, his favorite place to take photographs is on the street.
Tobias Kruse
Photography
Advanced class
Born in Waren in 1979, he grew up in Schwerin and has been living in Berlin since 2000. Tobias Kruse initially worked as a graphic designer before studying with Prof Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler and in Prof Arno Fischer's master class at the Ostkreuzschule. He has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 2011. In his photography, he addresses the major social issues of our time with an explosive and poetic visual language. He has published several books, including Material, Freundschaft (together with Jörg Brüggemann) and Deponie. His pictures have been published in media such as Zeit Magazin, Der Spiegel, Libération and the Financial Times and have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at FOAM Amsterdam, the Akademie der Künste Berlin, the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, C/O Berlin and the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo. Kruse has received numerous awards, including the 2023 Art Prize for Photography from Lotto Brandenburg and the German Photo Book Prize in Gold. He works for selected clients, but mainly on freelance projects. Tobias Kruse has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2017.
Sebastian Lange
Photolab and studio
Basis- & Fachklasse
Born in 1973 in Lemgo, he grew up in Aschaffenburg and lives in Berlin. In the mid-1990s, Sebastian Lange first studied biology at the Gutenberg University in Mainz and later art history and philosophy at the Goethe University and the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt. Between 2002 and 2005, he trained as a photographer at the Schule am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, where he graduated under Professor Arno Fischer. Since founding the Ostkreuzschule in 2005, he has been a lecturer for photographic technology. Since 2015, he has also been a lecturer at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle.
Philipp Plum
Digital Lab
Advanced class
Born in Aachen in 1984, he lives in Berlin. Philipp Plum got to know photography through the theatre, initially in Asia and America, and from 2005 in Berlin at the Neukölln Opera. He completed his photography studies at the Ostkreuzschule in 2012. His graduation project Berlin Bouncer was honored at C/O Berlin in 2013. Plum was co-founder and for five years co-editor of the online magazine Emerge, which was nominated for the Grimme Online Award in 2011 for its commitment to young documentary photography. He works as a freelance photographer for various scientific and cultural organisations. His long-standing clients include the Fraunhofer Institute, FOKUS, the touring New Globe Theatre and the Humboldt University of Berlin. He has been teaching all aspects of digital workflow and fine art printing at the Ostkreuzschule since 2017.
Ludwig Rauch
Photography
Orientation and Graduation class
Born in Leipzig in 1960, he lives in Berlin. One year after completing his degree in photojournalism at the KMU in Leipzig. 1985 Ludwig Rauch was banned from publishing in all journalistic media in the GDR. From 1986, he studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig under Professor Arno Fischer. In January 1989, he left the GDR and moved to West Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he founded the art magazine neue bildende kunst together with Matthias Flügge and Michael Freitag . His pictures are parallel universes that are sometimes heavy and sometimes weightless and always multidimensional and sensual. His paintings have been shown in national and international exhibitions since 1989. Extensive solo exhibitions were shown at the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art in Cottbus in 2014, the Lyonel Feininger Museum in Quedlinburg in 2015, the Museum of Fine Arts in Leipzig in 2023 and again at the BLMK Cottbus in 2024. His works are represented in numerous collections. He is a member of the DGPh and has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2009.
Irina Ruppert
Photography
Orientation and Graduation class
Born in 1968 in Aktjubinsk, Kazakhstan, she has lived in Hamburg since the age of seven. In 2002, Irina Ruppert completed her photography studies with Prof. Ute Mahler at the HAW Hamburg. Her work is based on intensive research into the image of the human being, identity and the representation of traces. They have been honored and exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the State Art Gallery in Russe, the Arles Photo Festival and the House of Photography in Hamburg. Her works are represented in the Altenburg Auction House, the Forum for Photography, the Kominek Gallery in Berlin and in the collection of the ZF Art Foundation. Both the photo book Rodina, for which she photographed in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the photographic works Cortorar Gypsies about Roma in Romania and Erz.7139 about seasonal workers in Rhineland Palatinate have received several awards. Irina Ruppert is a lecturer in photography at HAW Hamburg and since 2022 also at Ostkreuzschule.
Ina Schoenenburg
Photography
Orientation- and Graduatien Class
Born in East Berlin in 1979, lives in Berlin with her daughter. Ina Schoenenburg completed her photography studies at the Ostkreuzschule in 2012. From 2013 to 2017 she was part of the photographer collective and exhibition space exp12 in Berlin. She has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 2016. Her photographic language ranges from documentary observation to staging. She is interested in the conflicts of her protagonists, their interpersonal relationships and their relationship to their environment and themselves. For her long-term project Blickwechsel, Ina Schoenenburg won the Prix Exchange Boutographies / Fotoleggendo in 2016, the Otto Steinert Prize of the DGPh in 2017 and the Vonovia Award for Photography. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines such as Zeit Magazin, Geo and Stern and has been exhibited in France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Switzerland, among others. She has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2019.
Maria Sewcz
Photography
Advanced class
Born in Schwerin in 1960, lives in Berlin. Maria Sewcz studied photography at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig from 1982 to 1987. She completed her postgraduate studies at the HGB Leipzig in 1995 as a master student. In her photographic cycles, she deals with urbanity in the process of transformation, which describe the respective time period. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, the LACMA in Los Angeles, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Münchner Stadtmuseum. Maria Sewcz has received numerous scholarships, in particular the Artist in Residence Scholarship of the German Academy Villa Massimo Rome, 2011 and the Istanbul Scholarship of the Senate Department for Culture and Europe, Berlin, 2016/17. Her works are the subject of several monographs: un, point out, inter esse, TR 34; ISTANBUL and JETZT, BERLIN. She taught at the Braunschweig University of Art from 2005 to 2007 and has been a lecturer at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie Berlin since 2017.
Lea Sievertsen
Basics of Design
Foundation class
Born 1990 in Flensburg, she lives in Berlin. Lea Sievertsen graduated from the Hamburg University of Fine Arts in 2019, specializing in graphic design, having previously studied at the HAW Hamburg and the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle. In 2021, she founded the graphic design studio Distaff Studio together with Sarah Fricke and Pawel Wolowitsch. She previously worked as a freelance graphic designer, including for Node Berlin Oslo. In 2021/2022 she was the third resident of the Fonds für junges Design at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg. In collaboration with Silva Baum and Claudia Scheer, she initiated and published the feminist publication and platform notamuse-A new Perspective on Women Graphic Designers in Europe. In addition to her design practice, she gives workshops, lectures and has been a lecturer of the basics of design at the Ostkreuzschule since 2024.
Andreas Trogisch
Design
Advanced class
Fachklasse Born in Riesa in 1959, he lives in Berlin. He has been working as a graphic designer and photographer since 1982. His studies of graphic design with the painter Bodo Müller and the photographer Manfred Paul at the FWG Berlin-Schöneweide were formative, in addition to his engagement with the works of the classical avant-garde photography. He has been publishing his photos in book form since 2010, including ten titles with Peperoni Books. His pictures have been shown nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions and have been exhibited at photo festivals in Nantes, Bordeaux and Arles and at the Triennial of Photography in Hamburg. In 1989, he was a founding member of the East Berlin graphic design studio grappa, which has been called Troppo Design since 2014, where he works as a designer of posters and books. He has also taught at the Berlin University of the Arts, the Berlin Weißensee School of Art and the German-Chinese Academy of Art in Hangzhou. He has been a lecturer in design at the Ostkreuzschule Berlin since 2021.
Franca Wohlt
Digital Lab
Foundation class
Born in 1981 at Lake Constance, she lives in Berlin. Franca Wohlt completed her training in photo design at the Lette Verein Berlin in 2009. The following year, she founded the AFF Gallery, a space for contemporary photography in Berlin-Friedrichshain, where she still works (today). Her mostly documentary works have been shown nationally and internationally, including at C/O Berlin, FotoDoks Munich, the Triennale der Photographie Hamburg and Voies Off Arles. In 2017, she received the Neukölln Art Prize, for which she was a jury member in the following years. She has been on the board of the audan art foundation in Berlin since 2021. She works commercially for NGOs, companies and museums in German-speaking countries. She has been a lecturer at the Ostkreuzschule since 2018.
Miriam Zlobinski
Theory of Photography
Born 1982 in Essen, she lives in Berlin. Miriam Zlobinski works as a historian on concepts of photography in theory and practice. She completed her studies in history and art history with the special publication Die Volksgenossin in der Modefotografie, published by Humboldt University Berlin. She then began her doctorate on the political image in photojournalism in the magazine Stern. In 2018, she received the Research Grant from the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation. Together with Anne Vitten, she founded the interdisciplinary working group Foto:Diskurs for the exchange of humanities scholars. As editor-in-chief, she is jointly responsible for the online magazine Revue - für Fotografie und Wahrnehmung. She works as a curator at fhoch3 - freiraum für fotografie and is in charge of collaborative projects as a freelance exhibition organiser. As an appointed member of the DGPh, she has been a board member of the History & Archives section since 2022. She has been a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2021 and teaches photography history and media theory at the Ostkreuzschule since 2023.
Prof. Linn Schröder
Photography
Photography Masterclass
Linn Schröder Born 1977 in Hamburg, she lives and works in Hamburg and Berlin. After completing her degree in photography at the HAW Hamburg under Prof. Ute Mahler, Linn Schröder became a member of the Ostkreuz agency in 2005. She has been a professor of photography at the HAW in Hamburg since 2016. Her work can be seen (regularly) in museums and exhibition venues in Germany and abroad. The group of works Ich denke auch Familienbilder was shown in 2021 as part of the exhibition Family Affairs at the Haus der Photographie in the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, as well as at the Kunsthalle Erfurt and the Galerie Robert Morat in Berlin. Self-Portrait with Twins and a Breast was awarded the Zeit Magazin Photo Prize in 2013. The work has been exhibited at the Deutsches Hygiene Museum in Dresden, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and the Museum Folkwang in Essen, among others. Her monograph Ich denke auch Familienbilder was published by Hartmann Books in 2021. She has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2011.
Ingo Taubhorn
Photography and Curating
Photography Masterclass
Ingo Taubhorn Born in Dortmund in 1957, he lives in Berlin. Ingo Taubhorn studied visual communication in the photography and film department at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts from 1980 to 1985. His work groups Mensch Mann, VaterMutterIch and Die Kleider meiner Mutter have been shown in exhibitions and publications in Germany and abroad. From 2003 to 2023, he was chief curator of the Haus der Photographie in the Deichtorhallen Hamburg and, as an exhibition organiser, realized major retrospectives and shows of works by renowned photographers. An important aspect of his curatorial work is the promotion of young photographers. He has taught photography at the HfK Bremen, the University of Witten-Herdecke, the FH Bielefeld and the HAW Hamburg. Since 2016, he has led the photography masterclass at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie, initially together with Prof. Ute Mahler and since 2022 with Prof. Linn Schröder. He is also President of the German Photographic Academy.
Nadja Masri
Head of programme
Photo Editing
Born in Flensburg, she lives with her family in the Swabian province. Nadja Masri is a freelance photo editor, lecturer and consultant. She worked at the Ostkreuz agency and for almost ten years as Senior Photo Editor and Bureau Chief for GEO magazine in New York. She has worked as a freelance photo editor for Science Notes, Philosophie Magazin and Das Magazin. In 2022, she curated the photo exhibition Lebenswelt - acht fotografische Positionen. She also gives workshops, lectures and judges photo competitions such as the C/O Berlin Talent Award. Since 2011, the communication studies graduate has been head of the photo editing program at the Ostkreuzschule. She also teaches at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and at the International Centre of Photography in New York.
Philipp Böll
Gastdozent
Digitale Tools & Online Editieren
Sandra Buschow
Gastdozentin
Projekt Portraits Hellerau
Betty Fink
Gastdozentin
Agencys & Fees
Sebastian Graalfs
Gastdozent
Medienrecht
Thomas Gust
Gastdozent
Fotobuch
Michael Hauri
Gastdozentin
Digital Storytelling
Heinrich Holtgreve
Gastdozent
Künstliche Intelligenz
Kathrin Kohle
Gastdozentin
Kulturmanagement
Julius Matuschik
Gastdozent
Diversitätssensible Bebilderung
Helena Melikov
Gastdozentin
Projekt Portraits Hellerau
Katharina Mouratidi
Gastdozentin
Projektmanagement & Kuratieren
Annette Samaras
Gastdozentin
Verschlagwortung
Trine Skraastad
Gastdozentin
Bildrecherche für Magazine
Ann-Kristin Ziegler
Gastdozentin
Zeitungsproduktion
Damian Zimmermann
Gastdozent
Fotofestivals & Schreibwerkstatt
Miriam Zlobinski
Theory and History of Photography
Born 1982 in Essen, she lives in Berlin. Miriam Zlobinski works as a historian on concepts of photography in theory and practice. She completed her studies in history and art history with the special publication Die Volksgenossin in der Modefotografie, published by Humboldt University Berlin. She then began her doctorate on the political image in photojournalism in the magazine Stern. In 2018, she received the Research Grant from the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation. Together with Anne Vitten, she founded the interdisciplinary working group Foto:Diskurs for the exchange of humanities scholars. As editor-in-chief, she is jointly responsible for the online magazine Revue - für Fotografie und Wahrnehmung. She works as a curator at fhoch3 - freiraum für fotografie and is in charge of collaborative projects as a freelance exhibition organizer. As an appointed member of the DGPh, she has been a board member of the History & Archives section since 2022. She has been a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2021 and teaches photography history and media theory at the Ostkreuzschule since 2023.
Ute Mahler und Werner Mahler
Photography
Ute Mahler was born in Berka in 1949 and Werner Mahler in Boßdorf in 1950. They live together in Lehnitz near Oranienburg. They both studied photography at the HGB Leipzig, where Ute Mahler graduated in 1974 and Werner Mahler in 1978. In 1990, together with five other East German photographers, they founded the Ostkreuz agency, which Werner Mahler ran as managing director until 2018. Before reunification, they published in the fashion magazine Sibylle and subsequently in national and international magazines. From 2000 to 2015, Ute Mahler held the professorship for photography at HAW Hamburg. Werner Mahler founded the Ostkreuzschule together with Thomas Sandberg in 2004. He was its director until 2023. In addition to commissioned work and later teaching, both Mahlers have always pursued their own artistic projects, together since 2008. In 2014, the Haus der Photographie in Hamburg's Deichtorhallen dedicated a major exhibition to the Mahlers, followed by the Fotomuseum in The Hague in 2019 and the Kunsthalle Erfurt in 2024. Their work has been published in numerous monographs, including Die Monalisen der Vorstädte in 2011, Zusammenleben (Ute Mahler) in 2014, Kleinstadt in 2018, Die Eiche (Werner Mahler) in 2020, Lissabon in 2022 and Ein Dorf in 2024. Together, they received the Lotto Brandenburg Art Prize for Photography in 2011 and the German Photo Book Prize in 2015. In 2019 they were awarded the David Octavius Hill Medal by the DFA and in 2023 the DGPh Culture Prize.
Mustafah Abdulaziz
Weekend-Seminar
Mustafah Abdulaziz Born 1986 in New York City, he lives in Berlin and London. Mustafah Abdulaziz is a photographer and director. For more than ten years, his work has focussed on the effects of climate change on people. His large-scale installations confront the public worldwide with vital stories. He is a recipient of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, a National Geographic fellow, and a former fellow of the Alicia Patterson and Bertha Foundations. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times, TIME Magazine and Der Spiegel. His work is collected by the Mercedes Benz Collection and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Jessica Backhaus
Weekend-Seminar
Jessica Backhaus Born in 1970, she lives and works in Berlin. Jessica Backhaus studied photography and visual communication in Paris and lived in New York between 1995 and 2009. The artist has been living and working in Berlin again since 2010. Her work has been shown internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin and MARTA Herford. The Kunsthalle in Erfurt dedicated a major museum exhibition to Jessica Backhaus in 2013. Her works are also permanently represented in major collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Margulies Collection in Miami, the Art Collection of Taunus Sparkasse in Bad Homburg, the Art Collection Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt and the ING Art Collection in Brussels. Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, has published eight monographs. Annette Hauschild Born 1969 in Gießen, she lives in Berlin.
Betty Fink
Portfolio-Development
As a young woman, Betty Fink wanted to become a photographer, but completed a photojournalistic traineeship at the laif agency in Cologne and worked there for three years as a photo editor, but eventually wanted to join the Ostkreuz agency, which she managed from 2003 to 2015. During this time, she worked internationally in the field of journalistic, documentary and artistic photography with major magazines, advertising agencies, book publishers, foundations and exhibition institutions. She looked after the Ostkreuz photographers and represented them with clients and at festivals. In 2015, she set up her own business to help herself and others. Since then, she has worked as a freelance consultant for magazines, publishers, companies, institutions and photographers, often with a socio-political focus. In 2018, she curated an exhibition for Amnesty International on the topic of "70 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and led the collective Human After All. She has been a lecturer at the Ostkreuz School of Photography since 2007.
Annette Hauschild
Evening-Seminar
Annette Hauschild completed her photographic training at the Lette-Verein in Berlin in 1993 and attended the master class at the photography school Fotoschule am Schiffbauerdamm with Prof. Arno Fischer in 2004. She has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 1996. Her work has been shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including at C/O Berlin, Hellerau - European Centre for the Arts in Dresden, Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and Akademie der Künste in Berlin and has been published by Hatje Cantz Verlag and Steidl and Hartmann Books. Her monograph Last Days of Disco was published by Hatje Cantz in 2011. She has received the Grenzgänger scholarship of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the INITIAL scholarship of the Akademie der Künste. Together with Prof. Ute Mahler, she curated the Ostkreuz exhibitions Ostzeit and Über Grenzen. She has been leading seminars at our school since 2022. Loredana Nemes Born in 1972 in Sibiu, Romania, she lives in Berlin.
Tobias Kruse
Weekend-Seminar
Born in Waren in 1979, he grew up in Schwerin and has been living in Berlin since 2000. Tobias Kruse initially worked as a graphic designer before studying with Prof Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler and in Prof Arno Fischer's master class at the Ostkreuzschule. He has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 2011. In his photography, he addresses the major social issues of our time with an explosive and poetic visual language. He has published several books, including Material, Freundschaft (together with Jörg Brüggemann) and Deponie. His pictures have been published in media such as Zeit Magazin, Der Spiegel, Libération and the Financial Times and have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at FOAM Amsterdam, the Akademie der Künste Berlin, the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, C/O Berlin and the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo. Kruse has received numerous awards, including the 2023 Art Prize for Photography from Lotto Brandenburg and the German Photo Book Prize in Gold. He works for selected clients, but mainly on freelance projects. Tobias Kruse has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2017.
Sven Marquardt
Weekend-Seminar
Sven Marquardt Born 1962 in East Berlin, he lives in Berlin. In the mid-1980s Sven Marquardt was an important part of the emerging punk, new wave and artist scene in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district. Photographers such as Sibylle Bergemann, Ute and Werner Mahler and especially Helga Paris have influenced his artistic career since the 1980s. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he explored the newly emerging Berlin club scene. Since the late 1990s, while working as a bouncer at Club Ostgut and then from 2004 at Berghain, he has been fascinated by the theme of the night. Inspired by Berlin's cultural atmosphere, he returned to photography at the end of the 1990s. Since 2015, he has been traveling the world with his photographs and showing them in exhibitions, (including) in Berlin, Belgrade, Sydney, New York City and Istanbul. He works for magazines such as i-D, Interview, Numéro Berlin, SLEEK, Vogue and ZOO as well as for fashion labels such as Hugo BOSS, Levi's, ITEM m6, Baldessarini, Liebeskind and G-Star. In 2019, he was a guest lecturer at Polimoda in Florence.
Ina Schoenenburg
Weekend-Seminar
Born in East Berlin in 1979, lives in Berlin with her daughter. Ina Schoenenburg completed her photography studies at the Ostkreuzschule in 2012. From 2013 to 2017 she was part of the photographer collective and exhibition space exp12 in Berlin. She has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 2016. Her photographic language ranges from documentary observation to staging. She is interested in the conflicts of her protagonists, their interpersonal relationships and their relationship to their environment and themselves. For her long-term project Blickwechsel, Ina Schoenenburg won the Prix Exchange Boutographies / Fotoleggendo in 2016, the Otto Steinert Prize of the DGPh in 2017 and the Vonovia Award for Photography. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines such as Zeit Magazin, Geo and Stern and has been exhibited in France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Switzerland, among others. She has been teaching at the Ostkreuzschule since 2019.
Anne Schönharting
Weekend-Seminar
Anne Schönharting Born 1973 in Meißen, she lives in Berlin. Anne Schönharting studied photography at the Lette-Verein in Berlin and has been a member of the Ostkreuz agency since 1999. In her long-term artistic projects, she focuses on a wide variety of themes and moves between the genres of portrait, artistic documentary photography, fashion and social studies. She works on commission for well-known clients, her pictures have been published in national and international magazines and exhibited in renowned institutions. She has taught at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee and held guest professorships for photography at the Bauhaus University in Weimar and the Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Kiel. In 2020, Anne Schönharting published her book Das Erbe, an examination of her family's colonial past, with Hartmann Books, for which she was awarded gold at the German Photo Book Prize 2020/21,. Her book Habitat was published in 2022, also by Hartmann Books, and won bronze at the German Photo Book Award 2023/24.
Nikita Teryoshin
Weekend-Seminar
Nikita Teriyoshin Born in Leningrad in 1986, he grew up in St. Petersburg and Dortmund, and now lives in Berlin. Nikita Teryoshin completed his photography studies at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts in 2017 with the project „Hornless Heritage“ about the 'German dairy cow in the age of its technical reproducibility'. He describes his photographic work as a mixture of "Street, Documentary & Everyday Horror." His long-term documentary „Nothing Personal - the back office of war - about the global arms trade“ was honored with the World Press Photo Award in 2020, exhibited internationally and published as a photo book by GOST/pupupublishing in 2024. As photojournalist he works for magazines like SZ Magazin, Die ZEIT, Bloomberg, Capital, The New Yorker and 11 Freunde. Having already led several short-term workshops, he will lead his first seminar at the Ostkreuzschule in autumn 2024.
Loredana Nemes
Wochenendseminar
Geboren 1972 in Sibiu, Rumänien, lebt in Berlin. Loredana Nemes hat zunächst Germanistik und Mathematik an der RWTH Aachen absolviert, bevor sie sich ab 2001 als Autodidaktin ausschließlich der Fotografie zuwandte. Sie arbeitet an fotografischen Serien, die sie über eine längere Zeitspanne begleiten, und verbindet dabei Fotografie mit poetischen Texten. Dabei sind der Mensch als Individuum, seine Beziehungen, seine Rolle in sozialen Geflechten sowie seine Zerbrechlichkeit Themen, die sie antreiben. Für Gefühle wie Gier, Angst, Liebe oder für die betörende Unordnung des Lebens Bilder zu finden, die diese Energie in sich tragen sowie das Medium der Fotografie reflektieren, ist Ziel ihrer Arbeit. Ihre Arbeiten sind in zahlreichen Sammlungen vertreten und werden international ausgestellt. Loredana Nemes ist Mitglied der DGPh sowie der DFA und wird von der Galerie Springer in Berlin vertreten. Ab Herbst 2024 wird sie ihr erstes Seminar an der Ostkreuzschule leiten.
Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie
Behaimstraße 32/34
13086 Berlin
030 - 92794414
office@ostkreuzschule.de
Office:
Monday and Wednesday: 9:00-16:00
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9:00-15:00
Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie Darjes Brüggemann GbR
Gesellschafter:innen:
Lia Darjes und Jörg Brüggemann
Finanzamt Pankow/Weißensee, 10431 Berlin
USt-IdNr. gem. § 27a UStG: DE360477909
Photo Credits
The copyright for the images under Selected Theses lies with the respective graduates. The copyright for the images in the image galleries between the texts is held by © Thomas Meyer/Ostkreuz with the exception of the image gallery for the Mahler class. Here the copyright lies with © Lia Darjes, © Jörg Brüggemann/Ostkreuz and © Dawin Meckel/Ostkreuz. Photo Seminar Annette Hauschild: © Annette Hauschild/Ostkreuz, Photo Seminar Sven Marquardt: © Sven Marquadt, Photo Seminar Loredana Nemes: © Loredana Nemes, Photo Seminar Ina Schoenenburg: © Ina Schoenenburg, Photo Seminar Nikita Teryoshin: © Nikita Teryoshin, Photo Seminar Mustafah Abdulaziz: © Mustafah Abdulaziz, Photo Seminar Jessica Backhaus: © Jessica Backhaus, Photo Seminar Tobias Kruse: © Tobias Kruse, Photo Seminar Anne Schönharting: © Anne Schönharting, Portrait Prof. Peter Bialobrzeski: © Nancy Jesse; Portrait Jörg Brüggemann: © Annette Hauschild/Ostkreuz; Portrait Cale Garrido: © Simone Kessler; Portrait Lia Darjes: © Jörg Brüggemann/Ostkreuz; Portrait Sibylle Fendt: © Sibylle Fendt/Ostkreuz; Portrait, Jürgen Gebhardt: © Flora Wechselberger, Portrait Göran Gnaudschun: © Eckart Bartnik, Portrait Thomas Gust: © Ana Druga ; Portrait Heinrich Holtgreve: © Alexandra Polina; Portrait; Dr. Enno Kaufhold: © Thomas Meyer/Ostkreuz; Portrait Tobias Kruse: © Christian Rothe; Portrait Philipp Plum: © Meike Klenn; Portrait Ina Schoenenburg: © Annette Hauschild/Ostkreuz; Portrait; Maria Sewcz: © Joachim Richau; Portrait Lea Sievertsen: © Tim Sonntag; Portrait Prof. Linn Schöder © Antine Yzer & Telke Jungjohann; Portrait Ingo Taubhorn: © Ute Behrend
Portrait Andreas Trogisch: © Axel Schmidt
Portrait Nadja Masri: © Caroline Scharff
Portrait Ute Mahler und Werner Mahler: © Dawin Meckel/Ostkreuz
Portrait Mustafah Abdulaziz: © Andres Sanjuan Villanueva
Portrait Jessica Backhaus: © Ilaria Turba
Portrait Sven Marquardt: © Hardy Paetke
Portrait Nikita Teriyoshin: © Privat
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Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie Darjes Brüggemann GbR
Behaimstraße 32/34
13086 Berlin
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