ANDERS PETERSEN

Anders Petersen • Surprised by the Unpredictable

Torino, Italy 

April 12-18, 2026

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.

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

We will experience new paths, through photography: we ‘ll see things in a different light.

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Anders Petersen has been a  “regular” at TPW since 2006, when we first met and he started teaching at our workshops in Tuscany.

After many years there, we decided to continue our project together on the road, exploring different cities in Italy. We did not know by then, but we were starting a project that took us to explore many cities of Italy: Venice, Rome, Siracusa, Palermo, Naples, Bologna, Genoa, Florence and recently Bari.

Our destination for 2026 will be Torino, in northern Italy.

ABOUT TORINO

Anders has never been there, I used to go there when I was running a photo-project in Piemonte (the region where Torino is located.)

It is a rather unique place: not as crowded (and expensive!) and “hip” as the near Milano, some people say is reminds of the atmosphere of Paris.

Less than 900.000 inhabitants, cultural centre of northern Italy, big industrial city in the 60’s (Fiat, the car company, is based here). A famous art academy and university, Europe biggest Egiptian museum and a large National Film Theatre.

 On the other side, the streets covered with arcades of the historical centre create a cosy atmosphere. You can walk in the main squares and, raising your eyes to the sky, see the amazing skyline of the Alps, that separate Italy from France.

It’s a city of quiet charm, where café culture thrives for those who appreciate slow travel and a more authentic slice of Italian life: you will uncover why Turin might just be Italy’s best-kept secret.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The number of participants, in order to give more attention to everyone, is limited to 13. If you are interested, please register as soon as possible. This is a very popular workshop and it tends to fill up very quickly!

 In April, we expect a mild climate, approx. C° 20 and sunny days.

We meet in the mornings for classes, afternoons  free for  a quick lunch break and shooting, and in the evenings, if you like, we get together again for dinner, exploring some of the many cafes, bars and little restaurants Torino is world famous for.

We will stay as usual in the historical center. Once we have finalized our base, we will let you know so that you can start your search for Hotels, and B&B

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. 

HOW TO GET THERE

BY PLANE

Turin Airport is connected with most European cities and is located 30 minutes away from the city center by taxi, 45 by bus. 

BY TRAIN

Turin is also is l connected with fast trains from northern  and central Italy

WHAT TO BRING
Bring your camera, if possible with an extra body (or another back up camera) in case something happens to your camera, and we suggest bringing the minimum amount of lenses.
A laptop, with everything that goes with it: cables, chargers, card readers, external hard-disk.

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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)

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BIOGRAPHY

Anders Petersen was born 1944 in Stockholm, Sweden. When14 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 INFO