For the third edition of the Crit Group near. is proposing two experts simultaneously: Andrea Gohl, Artist, photographer, teacher and Head of Studies (MA Contemporary Arts Practice, HKB) and Maren Polte, lecturer and Head of Studies (BA and MA Art Education HKB).
You will be discussing your work to an interesting double vision from the theoretical and practical approach to contemporary photography.

near. Crit Groups aim to present and discuss your “work in progress”. In a small group - accompanied by the experts and by your peers - you present, exchange, discuss over all projects during a whole day. With the feedback from each photographer and from our invited guests, you can sharpen and advance the process of the photo series you are working on.

Location: HKB Hochschule der Künste Bern, Fellerstrasse 11, 3027 Bern
Date: Thursday 30th September, 2021
Time: 9am to 17:30 (approx 1 hour lunch break)
Number of participants: max. 7 persons
Language: German

The whole group participates to the whole day of discussions, each participant has 45min-one hour at disposal for presentation and feedbacks of his/her project.

Costs: near. members 25.–
Non-members 50.–
Application: write an email to info@near.li

We will get in touch with you as soon as the registrations close, you will be given the list of participants as well as additional information for the payement.

Invited experts

Andrea Gohl ist Künstlerin und Fotografin. In ihrer künstlerischen Arbeiten beschäftigt Sie sich oft mit individuellen Beziehungen zu Orten, Räumen, Stadt. Sie interessiert sich für die Schnittstelle zwischen persönlicher Erkundung und der Erforschung von bestehenden Bedeutungen von Orten in einem bestimmten Kontext. Andrea Gohl arbeitet mit Fotografie, Video und Texten. Darüber hinaus interessiert Sie sich, was was fotografische Bilder sein können, für sich stehend. Ein Bild kann zu einem autonomen Ausgangspunkt werden, Farbe und haptische Qualitäten können gleichermaßen zur endgültigen Bedeutung beitragen. Nicht zuletzt verwendet Andrea Gohl verschiedene Arten der Dokumentation oder des Kommentars – über Fotografie, Video, Audio, Text -, um unterschiedliche Bedeutungsebenen und das erzählerische Potenzial zu erkunden. Andrea Gohl ist seit 2017 Studiengagnsleiterin Ma Contemporary Arts Practice HKB Bern. Davor war Sie von 2008 bis 2017, Studiengansleiterin und Dozentin für Fotografie an der F+F Schule für Kunst und Design, Zürich. Sie studierte im Beriech Fine Arts an der Goldsmiths University of London und der School of Visual Arts, New York City.

Maren Polte leitet die Studiengänge BA Vermittlung in Kunst und Design und MA Art Education an der Hochschule der Künste in Bern, Schweiz. Sie lehrt und arbeitet zu Wissensproduktion, Fotografie und zeitgenössischer Kunst. Ihre Dissertation erschien unter dem Titel Klasse Bilder. Die Fotografieästhetik der „Becher-Schule“2012 in der Reihe der Humboldt-Schriften zur Kunst und Bildgeschichte, Gebrüder Mann Vlg. und 2017 unter dem Titel A Class of Their Own. The Düsseldorf School of Photography in der Lieven Gevaert Series, Leuven University Press.

Open call*

Deadline October 1, 2021
 

This year, near. launches the third edition of the near. prize, an annual award aimed at providing a financial incentive to encourage production and foster new ideas. Each year, a specific theme is chosen by the committee. This year’s theme is «unspoken».
The composition of the jury this year is: Danaé Panchaud, Director of the Photoforum Pasquart and future director of Centre de la photographie Genève – Erik Vroons, Editor-at-large for GUP, the international platform for creative contemporary photography, and as Chief editor for the print edition of GUP Magazine – and the committee of near. counting as one vote.

The winner of the near. prize 2021 will be awarded by a feature in GUP Magazine, 1000.– CHF in cash to support his/her work and a free one-year near. membership.

→ application form here
(deadline October 1, 2021)
 

* the near. prize is reserved exclusively for the members of the association.
Next deadline to become a near. member is September 1, 2021.
→ near. membership application

near. prize 2021

Winner of near. prize 2021 is Rebecca Bowring, congratulations !
We are thrilled to finally reveal the winner of the third edition of the near. prize: Rebecca Bowring for her project Knowing Thunder Gives Away What Lightning Tries to Hide, 2020

Here are the words of the jury : 
«Rebecca Bowring’s work addresses a topic which is almost impossible to convey with photography: her own experience of domestic violence. Rather than restaging past episodes of which no image exists, she uses photography in a subtle but powerful way to examine the feeling of isolation brought by violence, and to revisit how making images provided her with a temporary escape. Knowing what the photographs are referring to invites us to a somber but deeply engaging understanding of them, where every small detail can become a metaphor for violence and destruction, which furthermore hints at how widespread this form of violence is, and all too often concealed and unspoken. The tension lies within the images but also on the surfaces where the artist has placed them.»

Special mention
The jury decided to give a special mention to Tim Rod for his project Don’t forget the Knifish

«Tim Rod’s project is layered and complex. He uses photography in multiple ways, as a tool to make sense of, appropriate and ultimately write his personal history. The images are not only documents, but also a process and the research itself. The photographer successfully establishes connections and parallels between the different episodes and protagonists of his family history, while at the same time highlighting the many gaps that cannot be fully closed. In his playful approach to trace back his own history - or lack of it - he manages to incorporate a therapeutic method to overcome the void. Every image is a surprise yet it is linked to the whole project by an internal logic. Tim’s experimentation with post-production techniques gives the body of work a very delicate touch.»

near. prize
The near. prize is an annual award aimed at providing a financial incentive to encourage production and foster new ideas. Each year, a specific theme is chosen by the association’s committee. This year’s theme was «unspoken». The winner of the near. prize 2021 was awarded by a feature in GUP Magazine, 1000CHF in cash to support his/her work and a free one-year near. membership.
The composition of the third edition's jury was: Danaé Panchaud, Director of the Photoforum Pasquart and future director of Centre de la photographie Genève, Erik Vroons, Chief editor of GUP magazine, and the committee of near. counting as one vote.


Photo credit:
© Rebecca Bowring, Knowing Thunder Gives Away What Lightning Tries to Hide, 2020
© Tim Rod, Don’t forget the Knifish