Exhibitions in public space
What is better than to combine a day in the city with a stroll and an outdoor exhibition of photography? You get your daily dose of the outdoors, a cultural experience and it is free to visit! In 2023 three of the exhibitions in public space are by Copenhagen Photo Festival headliners Craig Ames, Hilla Kurki and Erik Berglin, who are rewilding Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads, Højbro Plads and Vesterbro with their individual projects. The headliners’ exhibitions unveil parts of their project in the city, so if you are hungry for more we invite you to see more at our festival center on Refshaleøen.
Craig Ames – Photographs of British Algae – AI Impressions
Fang din by – group show
Hilla Kurki – Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden
Mit Tingbjerg – Group show
Erik Berglin – The Bird Project
Exhibitions in public space
Enjoy photography on the streets of Copenhagen!
At this year's festival we are very happy to present no less than three public space exhibitions with our solo artists Craig Ames, Hilla Kurki and Erik Berglin in the center of Copenhagen and on Vesterbro.
In addition to this you'll also find outdoor exhibitions at Danish Architecture Center and at Tingbjerg Kulturhus. All exhibitions are of course free and you can read more about each one below with links to where to find them.
Exhibitions in public space
Craig Ames at Thorvaldsens Plads
1-30 June
Craig Ames created Photographs of British Algae – AI Impressions using cutting-edge imaging technologies. He was inspired by the English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins and her photographic record of botanical specimens Photographs of British Algae – Cyanotype Impressions (1843-1853).
As a photography pioneer, Atkins created the world’s first photobook and photographic-based record of botanical specimens that inspired generations of artists and image-makers. Today, Craig Ames uses generative AI to create specimen exemplars of AI impressions.
Exhibitions in public space
Hilla Kurki at Højbro Plads
1-11 June
In her exhibition Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden Hilla Kurki portrays her mother’s flowers. Flowers are her mother’s passion and she “grows” them as she “grew” her daughters. In Finnish the same verb can be used for implying “to grow” or “to raise”.
In a way, her mother’s flowers symbolise the daughters, each a beautiful, individual creature. All of them convey their stories and the care and attention all daughters deserve to grow. Her series is accompanied by texts of various intimate memories collected from anonymous daughters.
Exhibitions in public space
Erik Berglin on the walls of Vesterbro
1-11 June
Swedish artist Erik Berglin invites you to spot the 12 birds spread out around the walls of Vesterbro. In connection with this year’s Copenhagen Photo Festival’s theme, Rewilding, Berglin has scattered a part of his 12-year long photographic project The Bird Project in our city.
Straight out of (old) ornithological magazines, these birds have been re-photographed, printed at real size, cut out and glued on the walls of the buildings in this very urban area of Copenhagen by the artist. The total project contains more than 4,000 photos and has already toured some of the world’s largest cities.
Exhibitions in public space
Mit Tingbjerg – Group show
1 June to 1 September
There will be no ordinary days at the youth club when artists and photographers are giving workshops focusing on photography at Tingbjerg Kulturhus which will then be exhibited in front of the beautiful culture house in central Tingbjerg. The workshops inspires how to play with the camera or graphics and the young soon-to-be artists are encouraged to explore their local environment whilst practicing various photographic techniques and expressions. Perhaps everyday life looks different from behind the camera lens? 10-13-year-olds will explore the unique nature, culture and architecture of their own neighbourhood in Tingbjerg while telling stories through pictures and various photo techniques.
Exhibitions in public space
Fang din by – Group show
9 June to 2 October
For the eighth consecutive year, Danish Architecture Center is holding its nationwide “Fang din by” (Capture Your City) photo contest.
This year’s ‘No Filter’ theme challenges photographers to avoid those scenic, picturesque shots and instead capture the beauty in the worn down, the raw, the unpolished and the abandoned in your city. A disused industrial building, a wall covered in graffiti or a run-down but popular playground – how does the city look when we don’t make a conscious effort to make Instagram-worthy shots, but instead capture the flaws and the imperfections in the motif?
The contest will result in 55 selected images, which will be exhibited at Bryghuspladsen in front of Danish Architecture Center.
