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| © Oliver Baer |
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50 Years of Fotostiftung Schweiz |
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Colloquium: On Collecting Photographs, Yesterday and Tomorrow (german)
Saturday: 18 September, 1 – 5 pm |
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| Two comprehensive publications will be released to mark the 50 anniversary |
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Bill for the exhibition "Photographie der Schweiz um 1840 bis heute"
Kunsthaus Zürich, 1974 |
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| 50 years ago, on 4 May 1971, the Fotostiftung Schweiz was founded in Zurich "to rescue significant photographs from being forgotten", as stated in Foundation's charter. The initiators' aim was to preserve the archives of important photographers, to build up a collection and raise the public profile of photography as cultural heritage, in part through exhibitions and publications. A few months before the Foundation was officially established, an exhibition was organised at the Le Corbusier Centre in Zurich featuring works by Werner Bischof, Robert Capa and other repre- sentatives of "concerned photography". The Concerned Photographer – produced by the Inter- national Fund for Concerned Photography in New York – was met with great interest, which encouraged the originators of the Foundation to approach the Kunsthaus Zürich with what was a bold proposal at the time: for the first time, they wanted to showcase the history of photog- raphy in Switzerland, to debate questions of current photography and to present exceptional artists to the public. |
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Bill for the exhibition "Photographie der Schweiz um 1840 bis heute"
Kunsthaus Zürich, 1974 |
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| And indeed, in the autumn of 1974, the fledgling Foundation was able to open an exhibition at the Kunsthaus that is considered a milestone in the institutional engagement with photography in Switzerland. Brought together under the heading Photography in Switzerland: 1840 to today, 1200 photographs from all genres – photojournalism, fashion, advertising, artistic photography etc. – by 180 photographers were shown in the Bührle Gallery, accompanied by a publication of the same name which provided an overview of the development of the medium and its many facets. This first comprehensive photography exhibition at a Swiss art museum was seen by 70,000 people over the course of 10 weeks and contributed significantly to the public recog- nition of photography. |
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Bill for the exhibition "Photographie der Schweiz um 1840 bis heute"
Kunsthaus Zürich, 1974 |
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| The successful presentation was also key to the continued development of the Fotostiftung: the exhibition toured the world in a scaled-down format and made the Foundation a household name; it laid the groundwork for a national photo collection; and it was the decisive step that was followed by a "Photo Gallery" staffed by the Foundation and many other exhibitions at the Kunsthaus. From 1976 to 2001, the Fotostiftung was also allowed to use offices and archive rooms in the Kunsthaus. In 2003, it relocated to Winterthur to set up a new Centre for Photography in cooperation with the Fotomuseum. |
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Bill for the exhibition "Photographie der Schweiz um 1840 bis heute"
Kunsthaus Zürich, 1974 |
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Among the early exhibitions at the "Photo Gallery" was a tribute to Ernst A. Heiniger (1979) – it is thanks to this prior history that the Fotostiftung Schweiz is now responsible for maintaining Heiniger's archive and can present his work in a first comprehensive retrospective.
Two comprehensive publications will be released to mark the 50 anniversary of Fotostiftung Schweiz. |
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"Image by Image. A History of the Fotostiftung Schweiz"
This book is available in German and French.
With a text by Peter Pfrunder
Lars Müller Publishers / Fotostiftung Schweiz
Available online: fotostiftung.ch/e-shop |
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"99 Photographs"
This book is available in English and German.
Edited by Peter Pfrunder, in collaboration with Teresa Gruber
With contributions by the team of Fotostiftung Schweiz
Lars Müller Publishers / Fotostiftung Schweiz
Available online: fotostiftung.ch/e-shop |
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© 14 Sep 2021 photo-index UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Ziegelstr. 29 . D–10117 Berlin
Editor: Claudia Stein & Michael Steinke
[email protected] . T +49.30.24 34 27 80 |
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