40 Years of laif photo agency

12 March to 25 September, 2022

To mark the 40th anniversary of the laif photo agency, the exhibition will be showing 40 Positions of Documentary Photography.

In their works, the internationally known photographers, who were selected for this exhibition by the curator, Peter Bialobrzeski illustrate the world through its conflicts and fractures, but also show how art and solidarity can connect people. The works also reflect the aesthetic development of documentary photography from the 1980s to the present. Developed by Berlin-based designer Sarah Fricke, the presentation brings 40 years of contemporary history to life.

“Whereas the photographers at the beginning of this period still treated the protests against nuclear power, rearmament and airport expansions using a classic, black-and-white style and were very close to the events, colour photography came to the fore in the 1990s, analogous to the technical reproduction possibilities of the press”, says Peter Bialobrzeski.

The laif photo agency was founded in Cologne in 1981 by the photographers Günter Beer, Jürgen Bindrim, Manfred Linke und Guenay Ulutuncok. Today, the agency represents more than 400 photographers worldwide, including many World Press and Pulitzer Prize winners. With the marketing of image licences for high-quality photographs and the arrangement of editorial and corporate shootings, especially in an international context, laif is one of Germany's leading image agencies. Furthermore, laif represents more than 40 international partner agencies in the German-speaking countries and is a syndication partner of the New York Times.