Internationale Photoszene Köln is pleased to announce the fifth edition of its residency and exhibition program Artist Meets Archive (AMA).
The new edition of Artist Meets Archive once again brings together a wide range of different photographic archives and collections, highlighting the complexity and versatility of photography: as a medium of reportage or feminist activism, documenting urban history and spatial change, or interpreting movement and dance (history). It combines extensive press image archives with collections and estates of significant photographers, opens up diverse institutional perspectives on photography, and places a particular focus on the (image) archive at the intersection of analogue and digital organization and use.
For its fifth edition, the program is realized in collaboration with five partner institutions: Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln, Archiv der Fotowerkstätte Schmölz, Greven Archiv Digital, FrauenMediaTurm Köln, and LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn. Together, they represent a broad spectrum of photographic collections, addressing themes such as feminist activism, urban and social change, press photography, and the documentation of movement and dance. The program offers participating artists in-depth access to these archives and the opportunity to uncover overlooked narratives and develop new artistic perspectives.
Open Call and Eligibility
The AMA#5 Open Call is open to professional artists, photographers, and artist collectives of legal age whose work engages with photography and archival practices. Most residencies are open to international applicants. One residency, hosted by the Archiv der Fotowerkstätte Schmölz, is specifically aimed at artists born in the Netherlands, currently residing there, or holding Dutch citizenship, strengthening cross-border exchange between the Netherlands and the Rhineland. Artists who have previously participated in Artist Meets Archive are not eligible to apply. All selected artists are expected to work on site in Cologne for a defined period.
Photography, Archives, and Transformation
The fifth edition highlights photography as a versatile medium: as a tool of documentation and activism, a record of urban transformation, and a means of interpreting cultural and social movements. By linking extensive press archives with curated collections and photographic estates, the program places particular emphasis on the archive at the intersection of analogue structures and digital futures.
Funding and Exhibition
Selected artists will receive an artist fee of €4,500, divided equally between residency, project development, and exhibition realization (3 × €3,000 for the collective at Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln). Travel and accommodation costs are covered, and each project is supported by a basic exhibition budget of €5,000. All residencies will culminate in exhibitions presented during the Photoszene Festival 2027.
Artists are invited to select one participating archive and submit their proposal.
Information
Internationale Photoszene Köln
Im Mediapark 7, 50670 Köln, Germany
January 01, 2026 to February 05, 2026
