Every two years, the Stedelijk organizes a large group show centered on a discipline or urgent theme. The 2024 edition focuses on developments within the field of photography, a medium that is constantly evolving. This emphasis reflects the museum’s new course in photography: works that highlight the intersection of the visual arts and photography.

21 artists were selected for Circulate, all of whom who use photography in unique and innovative ways, thinking beyond the frame. Their work also attests to the impact of the image in our lives today. Many of the works in Circulate were created especially for the exhibition and are on view for the first time. During the exhibition, the Stedelijk will announce which works will be acquired for the collection.

Circulate features the work of 21 artists:
Aimée Zito Lema / Ana María Gómez López / Anika Schwarzlose in collaboration with Elena Khurtova and Brian D. McKenna / Bruno Zhu / Gilleam Trapenberg / Hira Nabi / Ima-Abasi Okon / Jaya Pelupessy / Katarina Jazbec / Katja Mater / Katja Novitskova / Kévin Bray / Kevin Osepa / Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti / Mandy Franca / Neo Matloga / Paoletta Holst / Robert Glas / Semâ Bekirović / Sharelly Emanuelson / Vytautas Kumža

The exhibition is curated by Mirelva Berghout (independent curator) and Vincent van Velsen (curator contemporary art and photography, Stedelijk Museum).

A NEW ROLE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
This exhibition looks at photography as an artistic carrier of meaning, rather than a technique or discipline. Photography has transformed dramatically over recent decades: it has increasingly become a part of our lives. Influenced by digitization, the smartphone and social media, we now create and see a constant flow of images—moving, manipulated, scrolling past, and still—on all kinds of screens around us. The democratization of photography has enabled all of us to be both producers and consumers.
With the advent of AI, we can make a ‘photo’ without even picking up a camera. Printing has likewise become predominantly obsolete—the vast majority of images lead a merely digital existence. Along with these changes, the status of the medium, and how we interact with it, have shifted dramatically. For the majority of people and makers, the question of whether something is or isn’t photography has mostly become irrelevant, as is the distinction between film, digital work, and installation. What matters is the meaning of the artwork. And this is highly dependent on factors beyond the frame.

Rein Wolfs, director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam: “The Stedelijk has a long history with photography. Internationally, it was one of the first museums to begin collecting photography as an art form, and now has a world-renowned collection. Photography has expanded into multiple forms and practices at breakneck speed. Artists today are no longer restricted to working with a single material or medium and utilize photography whenever they feel it is essential to their work. It is critical that the museum keeps pace with these innovative practices. Circulate not only presents a fascinating cross-section of what photography can be in the contemporary art world, but also emphasizes the museum’s new course in the field of photography.”

NOMINATIONS
The artists participating in Circulate were chosen based on a longlist drawn up by twenty scouts from the field, and submitted to a jury. The jury, consisting of Ahmet Polat (editor-in-chief of broadcaster HUMAN, photographer, curator, film and theater maker), Amal Alhaag (curator, researcher and co-initiator/facilitator of several initiatives, including Metro54 and, previously, the Side Room), Laurens Otto (curator and critic), Sara Blokland (visual artist, researcher and curator), and the curators of the exhibition: co-curator Mirelva Berghout (independent curator) and Vincent van Velsen (curator contemporary art and photography, Stedelijk Museum and chairman) collectively made the selection.

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication of the same name (English / Dutch, 152 pages, published by Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, ISBN 978-90-5006-232-9).This exhibition is part of the biennial Proposals for the Museum Collection and is generously supported by the City of Amsterdam.

Image announcement: Vytautas Kumža