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Conclusion: Points of Departure

23.03.2026•12:27

A summery of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography by Markus Rautzenberg, Media Theorist and Professor of Philosophy at the Folkwang University of the Arts What if photography’s future is not defined by what it is, but by how it operates? In his conclusion, Markus Rautzenberg reframes photography as a shifting field of »modal configurations« – a set of changing, rule-based practices that gain and lose relevance over time – rather than a stable medium grounded in technique, materiality, or indexicality. The lectures of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography reveal a medium shaped by friction, overlap, and transformation. Follow this talk to understand how photographic knowledgeemerges not from images alone, but from shared social expectations and uses. When and under what conditions do images count as credible, meaningful, or true? And does this mean that photography may be less in crisis than our waysof understanding it? Join the conversation and leave a comment to speculatewith Markus and us. This session was recorded on February 4, 2026, on theoccasion of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography »What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate«, hosted by the Essen Center for Photography. Photo credit: Essen Center for Photography / Silviu Guiman

Welcome and Introduction: Points of Departure

22.03.2026•20:21

The opening of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography by Steffen Siegel, Professor for the Theory and History of Photography at Folkwang University of the Arts What if speculation about photography’s future has alwaysshaped the medium’s presence? In his opening address, Steffen Siegel frames photography as a history of past futures, shaped by expectations, hopes, and projections – from early daguerreotype announcements to the launch of the iPhone. Speculation, he suggests, is a forward-looking practice with a double edge: it can generate insight, yet also distort perception. So understanding photography’s future requires a deep graspof its ruptures, reconfigurations, shifting material and epistemic conditions, rather than a simple linear narrative. What happens if the real question may not be whether speculation can mislead, but how engaging with its risks might reveal unexpected ways of understanding the medium? Join the conversation and leave a comment to speculate with Steffen and us. This session was recorded on February 4, 2026, on theoccasion of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography »What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate«, hosted by the Essen Center for Photography.

Das Archiv Timm Rautert im Museum Folkwang

20.03.2026•33:27

Eine Aufzeichnung des Künstlergesprächs zur Übernahme des Vorlasses mit Timm Rautert, Steffen Siegel (Folkwang Universität der Künste) und Malte Radtki (Museum Folkwang) Im November 2025 ist der künstlerische Vorlass des international einflussreichen Fotografen Timm Rautert ins Museum Folkwang umgezogen. Das Archiv umfasst über 9.000 Prints, 50.000 Diapositive, Raum- und Videoinstallationen – sowie alle Negative, Kontaktabzüge, Korrespondenzen und Publikationen. Bei einem festlichen Abendempfang auf Einladung der Stadt Essen präsentierte das Museum im Februar 2026 erstmals nahezu sämtliche Fotobücher aus über fünfzig Jahren künstlerischen Schaffens. Im Gespräch mit Steffen Siegel und Malte Radtki ordnete Timm Rautert diesen wesentlichen Teil seines Lebenswerkes ein. Warum ihn das einzelne schöne Bild nie interessiert hat. Wie viel Freiheit bleibt, wenn ein fotografisches Werk seine Form als Buch findet. Warum sein größter Dank den Menschen in Essen gehört. Timm Rauterts Antworten hören Sie in dieser Aufnahme vom 5. Februar 2026 in der 22. Etage des Essener Rathauses. Bildquelle: Zentrum für Fotografie Essen

Sense and Sensitivity: Speculations on the Future of Photography

20.03.2026•25:48

A lecture by Michelle Henning, Professor in Photography and Media, University of Liverpool Chair: Franziska Barth, Ruhr University Bochum & KWI – Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities What if the core of photography’s future is about sensing, worlding, and shaping relationships? Michelle Henning examines how computational photography and generative AI transform everyday photography: Large tech companies don’t just offer technical items such as smartphones and digital cameras. They produce theories of photography, framing what counts as realism, authenticity, and social value. Michelle points out how the reinvention of the darkroom in photographic art opens up a contrarian philosophical model of what photography can be and mean. Follow the discussion to explore how photography can become a relational practice to connect humans, nonhuman entities. How can photography remain a space for mindful engagement, encounter, and critical reflection in an era of invisible pipelines and algorithmic shaping? Join the conversation and leave a comment to speculate with Michelle and us. This session was recorded on February 4, 2026, on the occasion of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography »What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate«, hosted by the Essen Center for Photography. Photo credit: Essen Center for Photography / Silviu Guiman

Photography and Ghost Imaging

20.03.2026•31:35

A lecture by Jens Schröter, Professor for Media Studies at the University of Bonn Chair: Franziska Barth, Ruhr University Bochum & KWI Essen – Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities What if the future of photography is about measuring and reconstructing the unseen? Jens Schröter explores speculative but historically grounded futures of photography through two cutting-edge laboratory technologies: Ghost Imaging, which forms images via correlated or entangled light fields without direct contact with the object, and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) Imaging, which reconstructs hidden scenes from scattered light. Both approaches, he argues, remain photographic because they rely on indexical traces of electromagnetic radiation, even when the final images are computationally rendered. Follow the discussion to see how these techniques expand what can be visible, raise military and surveillance questions, and challenge how we understand reference, trust, and authorship. What responsibilities and interventions are demanded, when photography can see around corners? Join the conversation and leave a comment to speculate with Jens and us. This session was recorded on February 4, 2026, on the occasion of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography »What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate«, hosted by the Essen Center for Photography. Photo credit: Essen Center for Photography / Silviu Guiman

Adventurous Companionship: Statistical Sight and the Bureaucracy of the Image

20.03.2026•39:12

A lecture by Therese Schuleit, Curator at Museum of Photocopy, Mülheim/Ruhr Chair: Dr. Anja Schürmann, KWI – Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities What if the future of photography is about technical inscription to create responsibility, intervention, and credibility in a world of generative images? In her lecture, Therese Schuleit positions photocopy as a precursor to generative systems, highlighting the distinction between »image taking« (capturing the world) and »image writing« (bureaucratic, technical inscription). Photocopy, she shows, has historically been tied to verification, control, and accountability, and its material and procedural logic prefigures many challenges of contemporary AI-generated imagery. Follow the discussion to see how copying practices shaped notions of authenticity, proof, and manipulation in past and presence. What can such a history of photocopy consequently teach us about authorship, trust, and intervention in AI future? Join the conversation and leave a comment to speculate with Therese and us. This session was recorded on February 4, 2026, on the occasion of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography »What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate«, hosted by the Essen Center for Photography. Photo credit: Essen Center for Photography / Silviu Guiman