Migration

In the age of global capitalism, the borders for exchange of goods are becoming increasingly open. At the same time, travelling from one country or continent to another is for many people more and more difficult. Immigration to Europe is often illegal and dangerous, or is possible only if foreign workers are needed. Very few people who arrive in Europe are granted asylum. But migration is not a new phenomenon; people have always been exiled and forced to flee.

In this course, Migration, participants will take photographs in Dortmund of people who are arriving or departing, or who have come to stay. They may be refugees, or perhaps immigrants who have lived in Dortmund for a long time. What cultural background, what experiences do they bring with them? How do they contribute to shaping the town? What does their presence in Dortmund tell us about global developments and conflicts? And finally, how can these processes and observations be captured using the resources of photography?

The aim of the course is to produce results which are worthy of presentation, and in which questions of content and concept are coherent.

What to bring: Digital camera, laptop; possibly also analogue camera, video camera, Polaroid camera, etc. (for those interested)
Requirements: Readiness to approach people and to work with them; basic technical knowledge of photography
Maximum number of participants: 15

Tobias Zielony was born in 1973 in Wuppertal, Germany. His critical aproach to social documentarism makes him one of the most discussed artists in contemporary german photography. After studying Documentary Photography at the University of Wales, Newport, Zielony enters Timm Rauterts' class for artistic photography at the HGB Leipzig in 2001. In 2006 he moves to Berlin and receives the GASAG-Kunstpreis as well as grants for New York and Los Angeles. Solo exhibitions follow at C/O Berlin (2007), Kunstverein Hamburg (2010), Folkwang Museum Essen, MMK Zollamt Frankfurt, Camera Austria Graz (2011), and Berlinische Galerie (2013). In 2014 he was selected for the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennial 2015. Tobias Zielony lives and works in Berlin.

See more at http://www.kow-berlin.info/artists/tobias_zielony