Lucid Knowledge

The Deichtorhallen in Hamburg has organised the internationally renowned Triennale of Photography since 2014. The festival directs a global spotlight on current developments in photography in numerous photo exhibitions and accompanying events at Hamburg’s museums, exhibition venues and galleries. In a symposium entitled “Currency”, an international team of curators wishes to explore the value of photography in the 21^st century, the so-called “retinal age”. The production, distribution and consumption of photographic imagery have steadily increased for more than a century. Now more than ever, the world is viewed and interpreted through the lens of a camera. Moreover, photography plays an integral role in rendering truth and historical events. They circulate and create value like currencies – this is the premise of the symposium at the 8th Triennale of Photography in Hamburg.

The festival will begin with the three-day symposium “Lucid Knowledge” in Hamburg, to which some 30 international photography and art experts, researchers and authors have been invited, e.g. Ariella Azoulay, Maaza Mengiste, Tina Campt, Kapwani Kiwanga and Elias Sanbar. At the various presentations and discussions, audience members will be invited to critically engage in a debate on how photography shapes perception and colours our experience. In this context, participants will discuss to what extent new spaces of interpretation and narratives are only made visible through meticulous observation. The symposium will be broadcast live and online in English.

Artistic director: Koyo Kouoh
Curators: Rasha Salti, Gabriella Beckhurst, Oluremi C. Onabanjo
Artists: Ariella Azoulay, Nancy Adajania, Tina Campt, Ariel Goldberg, Kapwani Kiwanga, Elias Sanbar, Walid Raad and others

International symposium, Hamburg: 30 Sep. – 2 Oct. 2021