Let’s Play Photobooks!

A Kids❤Photography Exhibition

Let’s Play Photobooks! is an interactive exhibition on photobooks designed for children — and the young at heart. It features a diverse collection of both photographically illustrated children’s books and current artist books that captivate audiences of all ages. Here, you’re not just reading or looking; but you’re invited to explore photography and photobooks with all your senses.

At this “playground for photobooks”, you can find out how an image transforms into a sweet book by Jan von Holleben. You might even step into the role of an editor, arranging the sequence of photos for Martin Parr’s new book. Or perhaps you’d prefer to be an artist, creating your own work inspired by the many collage-based books on display. If you like, you can also meet the young dog Dashenka and – literally – hide away in one of the world’s most beloved photobooks of all time. And if you’re up for a game, why not start with a round of Memory by Gabriele Lorenzer? Either way – come by and play with us!

The exhibition is designed primarily for children aged 5-12, but all other Fotofestiwal attendees are welcome as well.

Featured works by Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka, Karl Čapek & Karel Teige, Claire Dé, Charles Fréger, Tana Hoban, Jan von Holleben, Eikoh Hosoe, Gabriele Lorenzer, Stefan Themerson & Franciszka Themerson, Jan Styczyński, Jaap Scheeren & Luke Stephenson, Martin Parr, Ylla,, …. and many more.

The exhibition is curated by Vreni Hockenjos, Jan von Holleben & Mareike Stoll, Kids❤Photography. Their aim is to strengthen the visual literacy of children through educational formats on photography that emphasize participation, play and creativity.

/ Let’s Play Photobooks! is an exhibition co-financed by The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.

__________

» GET TO KNOW THE CURATORS «

Dr. Vreni Hockenjos (*1972) is a Vienna-based researcher, author and curator in the field of photography. Together with Thomas Wiegand, she curated the 2023 exhibition ‘For Kids Only? Exploring Photobooks for Children’ at HEART – Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (Denmark). After studying in Germany, the USA and Sweden, she completed her doctorate in Film- and Media Studies at Stockholm University in 2007. She is a board member of Reflektor, a platform for self-published photo books, and she is currently working on a children’s book about the history of photography.

Jan von Holleben (*1977) studied History and Theory of Photography at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design/ UK. In the past he has worked in various areas of photography as an editor and director. He is also the founder of four photo collectives. Today he is mainly a photographer, author and editor who has published more than 20 of his own photobooks for children, which have been translated into up to 17 languages. He is currently editor of the children’s programme at Little Steidl (Germany) and head of the book collection Kids❤Photography at Les Grandes Personnes (France). From 2025, he has been appointed by the Ministry of Family Affairs to the photographic board of trustees of the German Children’s and Youth Film Centre KJF.

Dr. Mareike Stoll (*1979) studied Comparative Literature and Art History in Berlin, and in Turku/Åbo, Finland. She holds a PhD from Princeton University, USA. In 2018, she published her monograph in which she analyzes photobooks between 1924 and 1937 as schools for seeing and primers for perception. The book was published as “ABC der Photographie” [The ABC of Photography] by Walther König publishing house. In 2025, she is the recipient of the Solkatten Fellowship of the Astrid Lindgren Foundation at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books (Sbi) in Stockholm, where she is researching photobooks for children published in Scandinavia and is currently working on a monograph about photobooks for children.

cover photo: California Venice Beach © Martin Parr, 1998. 

__________

This exhibition has a program of accompanying events for children and families:

• GIGA SUPER BIG BOOK workshop, to create your own book that do not mix in any norms – visual monsters, emotional diaries, bizarre diaries and mini-worlds?
• Light sensitive Metamorphosis workshop, 3 days workshop to explore the secrets of both digital and analog photography.
• Luxography workshop – to create illustrations in the magical world of the traditional darkroom.
• Family guided tours of the exhibition – first day and second day