Florence, Italy • May 5-11, 2024
Anders Petersen has been involved in Swedish photography since the late 60′s. He is one of its central figures, and no one else has made a stronger impact on a younger generation. Yet, he hardly gives the impression of being a father figure. If anything, he is the eternal boy, traveling through an alien wonderland with its secret love encounters and bewildering adult conflicts. His pictures of the world out there somehow seem to be taken in a state of permanent amazement. “Is this what it looks like”, he seems to utter as he points his camera at lovers in the night and at people in the street — or at inmates in Swedish prisons and patrons in a Hamburg bar.
His pictures are intimate, and yet they disclose no all too unpleasant details concerning the people involved. The photographs are taken by the subjects’ consent and with a probing, somewhat detached eye. In the world of Anders Petersen, all things remain incomprehensible and strange — while still indecently enticing.
One of the secrets in Anders Petersen’s photography is his indication of a possible route of escape, a kind of alternative movement through the city, which could lead to a different story. A woman’s gaze into the camera turns into an unsettling invitation, often of the forbidden kind.” (Peder Alton, Swedish art critic)
BIOGRAPHY
Anders Petersen was born 1944 in Stockholm, Sweden. 14 years old his family moved to Karlstad in Värmland, where he met the artists Karin Bodland and Lars Sjögren. In 1961 he stayed for some time in Hamburg in order to learn German and trying to write and paint. He didn’t take any pictures.Five years later he met Christer Strömholm and became a student at his School of Photography in Stockholm. Strömholm was not just his teacher but also a close friend. Their friendship influenced him for life. In 1967 he starts photographing a bar called Café Lehmitz in Hamburg, close to Zeughausmarkt. He was photographing there for a period of almost three years and in 1970 he had his first solo exhibition over the bar in Café Lehmitz with 350 photographs nailed to the wall.
In 1973 he published his first book “Gröna Lund”, about people in an amusementpark in Stockholm. In 1974 he graduated from the Swedish Filmschool, Dramatiska Institutet, in Stockholm. In 1978 he published “Café Lehmitz ” in Germany. In 1984 the first book in a trilogy about locked institutions was published. The three books were about people in a prison, a nursing house, and a mental hospital. After photographing the mental hospital for three years he oriented himself towards a more free approach in a kind of diarylike photography.
During 2003 and 2004 Anders Petersen was appointed Professor of Photography in the School of Photography and Film at the University of Göteborg, Sweden. He regularly has workshops and exhibitions throughout Europe, Asia and in the USA. He has received numerous grants and rewards since the seventies.
In 2003 Anders Petersen was elected the “Photographer of the Year” by the International Photofestival in Arles. In 2006 he was shortlisted as one of four for the “Deutsche Börse Photography Prize”. In 2007 he received the “Special Prize of the Jury” for his exhibition “Exaltation of Humanity” by the third International Photofestival in Lianzhou, China. In 2008 he received the “Dr. Erich Salomon Award” by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, Germany.
“The Arles Contemporary Book Award for 2009” went to JH Engström and
Anders Petersen’s collaborative book “From Back Home” by Max Ström.
The book was nominated to “The Best Photographic Book in Sweden,
year 2009” and also Winner of Design Bronze Lion in Cannes. In 2010, he was in the jury for the BMW Prize at Paris Photo.
Anders Petersen has his darkroom in Stockholm, Sweden
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PRACTICAL INFORMATION
We can help you in finding accommodation. The city is full of hotels at different costs, B&B and private houses.
Meals, will be independent and paid separately. Eating out in Florence is a great culinary experience
HOW TO GET THERE
BY PLANE
BY TRAIN
WHAT TO BRING
Bring your laptop, with everything that goes with it: cables, chargers, card readers, and your photo equipment. Bring an extra body, in case something happens to your camera, and we suggest bringing the minimum amount of lenses.
Consider an external hard disk to make a back up of your daily shooting.
PRACTICAL INFO
| WORKSHOP DATES | May 5-11, 2024 |
| WHERE | Florence, Italy |
| WORKSHOP FEE | € 1.700 |