News around THE PHOTOMUSEUM

A new art exhibition enriches the Fotomuseum. Since 01 July 2023, Ilmenau artist Katharina May has been exhibiting her acrylic paintings in the Kulturfabrik.

"My pictures are reflections of our environment, wildlife and expressions of the things that surround us." This is how Ms May briefly describes her paintings. Her paintings belong to the contemporary cultural scene and are a mirror of the present. The beauty of nature, flora and fauna play a central role in her art. She does not stop at current politics either. Ms May's paintings also tell of the crises of this time, such as the climate crisis. Thus one finds Jan Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" on the moon, while the earth becomes the plaything of two tigers.

From Central Africa to the USA, where Katharina May lived for some time, she collected impressions on her travels and processes these impressions in her paintings. Her paintings are intended to give a voice to those who otherwise have no voice in society. This awareness for a better environment is reflected in her working techniques. For example, she uses bird sand or wood shavings mixed with paint instead of environmentally harmful structural pastes.

The exhibition "Art for Reflection" is intended to encourage a silent dialogue between creator and viewer or a loud dialogue from guest to guest. The artist hopes for a certain self-reflection on the part of the viewer.
Accompanying the exhibition, a workshop will be held on 26 August 2023. Ms May will teach some of her working techniques in the field of acrylic painting.

The vernissage of the exhibition will take place on 01.07.2023 at 16:00 in the Kulturfabrik Ilmenau. The exhibition "Art for Reflection" can be visited until 30 September 2023 on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kulturfabrik Ilmenau.

The world's first photograph can be traced back to the Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. In autumn 1826, he exposed a tar-based plate for about eight hours. The models did not have to hold still that long for Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype. Nevertheless, exposure times of one to two minutes were normal in the studio area around 1850 for the first commercial photographic process. The after-work tour of the Photo Museum aims to bring the spirit of this time to life, for example through digital interpretations of old technology, and thus invites visitors to participate and immerse themselves in the pioneering age of photography. At various stations, visitors can discover the photographic craft from the point of view of the photographer or even the photographed.
The Photo Museum explains the development of photography from its beginnings in the 1820s to the present day. With the after-work tour, the Kulturfabrik Ilmenau would like to get its visitors more excited about the subject of photography and make the new permanent exhibition better known.
The guided tour will take place for the first time on Friday, 04.11.2022, at 17:00. The tour is scheduled to last approximately two hours. Admission is 10.00 euros, 7.00 euros for pupils and students, and free admission for children under 7. The number of participants is limited to 15 persons, pre-registration by mail or telephone is requested.

On the last Thursday in August, our first photography course ended at the Kulturfabrik. It was a course for digital beginners. The group of five committed photographers learned the basics of photography from Robert Wiedemann (Helmut Arenz Kulturstiftung / www.antilumen.de). In addition to the technical side, it was also about image composition and the transport of emotions in terms of colour design, perspective and image composition.
The group spent the last day at the Langewiesen ponds. Here the course was briefly summarised by the instructor and the participants were allowed to work freely on their own themes, mostly nature or landscape. One participant summed up the course as follows: "The course has taken away my fear of the camera.
There will probably be a follow-up course and extension in November. More information is available on this page.

On 18 June 2022, the Fotomuseum was ceremoniously opened. Guests from local politics and representatives of the local economy were present. Helmut Arenz explained how a collection of photo cameras and accessories found its way to Ilmenau and what the future plans of the Helmut Arenz Cultural Foundation are. The mayor of Ilmenau, Dr. Daniel Schultheiß, addressed the guests and told them about his connection to photography.
There was no red ribbon to cut, but there was a red 36mm film.