About f/stop

f/stop stri­ves to make Leipzig as a city of pho­to­gra­phy more visi­ble in the public dis­cour­se. The f/stop – Festival for Photography Leipzig func­tions as a cen­tral plat­form for the high­light­ing and streng­thening of pho­to­gra­phy as a medi­um in Leipzig and the regi­on, invol­ving the various actors in the sec­tor. In fes­ti­val years as well as in inte­rim years, f/stop pro­vi­des topics, pro­grams, ide­as and per­spec­ti­ves that address pho­to­gra­phy as a medi­um on dif­fe­rent levels and are aimed at local, regio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal audiences.

f/stop – Fotoszene Leipzig

While we are inte­res­ted in inter­na­tio­nal per­spec­ti­ves, we also work to make Leipzig’s pho­to­gra­phy sce­ne more visi­ble in Leipzig and bey­ond and to estab­lish pho­to­gra­phy as a topic of public dis­cour­se local­ly. During non-fes­ti­val years in par­ti­cu­lar, f/stop focu­ses on col­la­bo­ra­ti­ons with muse­ums and gal­le­ries, art schools and fur­ther coope­ra­ti­on part­ners in the city and the regi­on of Leipzig that can increase the visi­bi­li­ty of pho­to­gra­phy. Various dif­fe­rent pro­jects, events and for­mats aim to con­nect dif­fe­rent actors in the Leipzig pho­to­gra­phy sce­ne. f/stop – Fotoszene allows a look “behind the sce­nes” through month­ly stu­dio visits, thus pro­mo­ting visi­bi­li­ty for the works of artists, pho­to­graph­ers and other actors in the pho­to­gra­phy sce­ne and pro­vi­ding pos­si­bi­li­ties for ente­ring into exch­an­ge. We also orga­ni­ze net­wor­king events, reviews of pho­to­gra­phic pro­jects and talks, and deve­lop new formats.

f/stop – Festival for Photography Leipzig

The f/stop – Festival for Photography Leipzig was foun­ded in 2007; it pres­ents con­tem­po­ra­ry artis­tic pho­to­gra­phy in exhi­bi­ti­ons and various other for­mats and uses pho­to­gra­phy as a medi­um for chal­len­ging our per­cep­ti­on of the world. The medi­um is made com­pre­hen­si­ble and acces­si­ble for audi­en­ces of dif­fe­rent ages and dif­fe­rent sec­tions of the popu­la­ti­on. f/stop is meant to be a fes­ti­val for the public, and at the same time a place for exch­an­ge about pho­to­gra­phy as an artis­tic means of expres­si­on. The exhi­bi­ti­ons pre­sent works of natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal artists and are accom­pa­nied by an exten­si­ve frame­work pro­gram. Facilitating pho­to­gra­phy for a varie­ty of audi­en­ces is a cen­tral goal.

Each fes­ti­val edi­ti­on cen­ters around a socie­tal­ly rele­vant topic. The festival’s main goals are crea­ting diver­se modes of access, brea­king up pat­terns of per­cep­ti­on and initia­ting dis­cour­se. An inter­na­tio­nal per­spec­ti­ve is com­bi­ned with local con­nec­ted­ness: the fes­ti­val pro­gram is mark­ed by a mul­ti­pli­ci­ty of voices and includes for­mats that are expli­cit­ly aimed at inter­na­tio­nal audi­en­ces or acces­si­ble remo­te­ly. At the same time, the fes­ti­val clo­se­ly col­la­bo­ra­tes with coope­ra­ti­on part­ners in and near Leipzig; fur­ther­mo­re, f/stop – Fotoscene plays a major role in con­nec­ting local artists and actors.

The f/stop – Festival for Photography Leipzig has been hos­ted by D21 Art Space Leipzig sin­ce 2021. The Festival takes place every three years. The next edi­ti­on will take place in 2027.

f/stop – Month of Photography 2025

In the years bet­ween fes­ti­vals D21 Kunstraum will focus on the “Young Leipzig Photography Scene”with the f/stop – Month of Photography. The sel­ec­ted works will enga­ge into a dia­log with the respec­ti­ve annu­al the­me of the Kunstraum. Final works from the sum­mer semes­ter 2024 and win­ter semes­ter 2024/25 can be sub­mit­ted. These will be sel­ec­ted in line with the annu­al the­me “ÜBER MACHT” and pre­sen­ted as an exhi­bi­ti­on in the Kunstraum for one month. There will also be a public sup­port­ing program.