ANDERS PETERSEN

Genoa, Italy • May 7-13, 2023

In the last years we have run workshop with Anders Petersen in many different places in Italy: Venice, Rome, Siracusa, Palermo, Naples, Bologna.

Our destination for 2023 will be Genoa. Genoa is a very special place: unlike other major cities in Italy, where located along the big communications roads, Genoa stand kind of isolated, remote, on the way leading to the French Riviera.

At first sight, Genoa appears very quiet. It’s a silent place, as the sea around it, dark sometimes, and rough to the ones who pretend to be shocked from the first moment. But if you really want to get to know her better, as if it were a person, she will not let you down. And will surprise you. The hidden things are the one that will surprise you more. Walk along the centro storico   (historical centre), stroll along the carrugi (narrow hallways), look at the sky. Stop for a cup of coffee and keep walking. Visit the Porto Antico (old harbour) and stop for a quick lunch in a simple trattoria or starred restaurant,

This will be ideal scenario for our workshop.

Anders Petersen’s workshops are an event themselves. We will talk about photography, cinema, life, love… it’s Anders’ world! We will take new photographs, find inspiration for new projects to carry on later. We will go wherever our imaginations – and Anders’ ceaseless creativity – takes us.

Expect your perspectives to shift. The week will be about photography, of course, but it will be mainly about you. It will be about how you want to use your camera to re-interpret the world, within and without you.

The week will be divided between theory classes, shooting time, discussion, sharing moments. We will experience – together with Anders Petersen – something that would not before have seemed possible.

We have in mind a venue in the centre of town, where students can find all different types of accommodations.   You can choose to find your own accommodation in one of the many hotels, B&Bs and AirBnBs near our area, I will also investigate the possibility of a hotel where we can stay together.

Usually we run classes in the morning, looking at your portfolio first and then having critique on the work produced on location.

In the evenings, if you like, we get together again for dinner, exploring some of the many cafes, bar and little restaurants Genoa is famous for.

We decided to reduce the number of participants, in order to give more attention to every single one. We will only accept 12 students. If you are interested, please register as soon as possible.

____________________________________

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

www.anderspetersen.se

_____________________________________________________

We wish to thank TWOWart for the kind cooperation.

TWOW ART is an internal project of TWOW that involves bringing art into a work context. It draws inspiration from the idea of bringing art into a work environment. It is an innovative space that promotes creativity, cross-inspiration, and free expression. It serves as a meeting point between artists and the agency ecosystem (team, collaborators, and clients), where physical and digital elements blend seamlessly.

_____________________________________________________

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 Genoa is a great culinary experience

HOW TO GET THERE

BY PLANE

Cristoforo Colombo Airport is the fastest way to reach Genoa, as well as the most spectacular, since the runway is almost entirely surrounded by the sea. Landing in Genoa, flying over the promontory of Portofino welcomes you with an unforgettable view of the city!

The airport is a few kilometres from the city centre, to which it is connected by public transport, taxis and trains.

BY TRAIN

The city’s central stations are Genova Piazza Principe (the main departure/arrival point to and from the North and West) and Genova Brignole (the main departure/arrival point for connections to the East and South).

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