Tehran – Dortmund
Right before Christmas the German group gathered for their first official meeting. The group consists not only of photography students but also three graphic designers. There will also be three graphic design students from Tehran to team up with and to make the workshop more multimedia. During the meeting general information about the workshop and the differences in culture as well as the experiences are shared.
After a long and intense production of the final layout, the “TWO-Cities” book is finally printed. At Nazar publishing house in Tehran, the plates for the offset machines are made. Everything is observed by Maryam Kahvand from the graphics department. After printing and a quality check 200 books are wrapped and packed for shipping to Germany.
During the preparations for the next exchange in 2019, Prof. Winde and his assistants Samaneh Khosravi and Tim Brederecke as well as Maryiam Kahvand from the Graphics department had a meeting at Nazar Publishing House in Tehran. The collected works of the first TWO-Cities project are now to become a book with excerpts of every students work. After a long process of editing and discussing the layout and the final product, the team around Prof. Winde decided to print the books in Tehran. Last proposals are made concerning paper and binding.
A very long and intense day with 29 photography portfolio reviews. The teaching staff and the assistants discussing the works of every applicant by their portfolios and homework as well as their personal presentation. The favorites are defined by a detailed score system which is filled out by the teachers after every review. By this the decisions are independent and fair. After an hour over time and even some acrobatic strength, the workshop participants are picked.
Two weeks past and the results of the photographic works are presented in the group. From documentary photography to Still Life and conceptual work the students made a variety of projects. Sharing the experience and photos gathered during the time in Germany, everyone seemed to have developed in their photographic skills. After the everyone presented their photos, the German students had a little surprise left for the Iranian visitors. Every student and teacher got a photo book previously selected by the team partner.
For a quick insight in the projects made in Tehran, the students prepared a small exhibition in the faculties own gallery. One picture of each project is displayed. After the opening speech of Prof. Jörg Winde and Dr. Mohamad Motarjemzadeh, the guests and exhibitors spend the evening talking about the projects and experiences.
As a special occasion, the whole group went to Osnabrück. Not only to see the beautiful new and old parts of the city, but also to take a look at the exhibition of Prof. Jörg Winde at the cultural museum of Osnabrück. Winde spend the last 13 years photographing the major´s offices around Germany. Parts of these photos built up the exhibition which is open till 23rd of September.
After the first photographic phase the students and teachers had a look over the pictures. Mostly discussing the strategies and concepts, the practical part of the workshop starts with a productive day.
The Museum Folkwang is one of the most important places for photography and art in Germany. Famous curators and changing exhibitions show contemporary photography and the classic masters. Here the students had some time to wander around and get an impression of the exhibitions.
The Iranian students visited the studio at FH Dortmund today. Together with the teachers all 12 students went through the single working spaces and learned about the different possibilities for studio work and printing. From digital medium format to printing large format images or renting equipment, the FH offers a lot for photography students.