On the occasion of the exhibition Helga Paris. Houses and Faces. Hall 1983-85 (Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle (Saale), from 11.6.2026) and as a continuation of the first two symposia on East German photography(Long Time, No See, 2022 and Securing Heritage to Shape the Future, 2024), the ’89+ group of the German Photographic Association once again invites you to a symposium, this time dedicated to portraiture in the context of eastern Germany – past, present and future. The term “portrait” is defined more broadly in this context, as a portrait of relevant actors, current issues and historical developments.
The four high-caliber panels are dedicated to portraits in the late GDR, the influence of mediators, current artistic positions and the photo book. In the opening lecture, Inka Schube (Sprengel Museum Hannover) will speak about the “Poetics of Resistance. The images of Helga Paris between the promise of reality and imagination”. The symposium is aimed at people of all generations and backgrounds who are interested in the topic, artistic and photographic creators as well as those who utilize the work, and researchers who are or have been active in academia, publishing or curating.
The symposium aims to bring together different perspectives: artistic, photographic, art-historical, theoretical as well as contemporary-practical approaches.