Since its inception in the nineteenth century, photography has been complicit in global turmoil, serving as both a tool of power and a means of manipulation. In today's era of deepfakes and AI, images fuel misinformation and political propaganda, while the environmental footprint of digital photography quietly grows, often making it a hidden contributor to the crises it seeks to document.
At the same time, photography has long been a force for change, shaping public opinion, influencing policies, and challenging dominant narratives. Its ability to capture events, evoke emotion, and provide visual evidence makes it a crucial tool for activism. But does it still hold power in today’s relentless flood of images? Can it actively contribute to solutions for major global issues? Several contemporary examples suggest that, in times of radical change, photographers and image-makers can still offer glimmers of hope and help envision a different world.
Kim Knoppers talks to Urs Stahel, curator of the MAST Photography Grant on Industry and Work exhibition.
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Kim Knoppers (The Netherlands) is an art historian working as an independent curator, lecturer and writer. Currently she is working as a curator for Marubi National Museum of Photography (Shkoder, Albania), Verwey Museum (Haarlem, The Netherlands) and Makryammos Ephemeral Art Residency (Thassos, Greece). She is also a lecturer at the MA Photography at ECAL (Lausanne, Switzerland). Between 2011 and 2021 she was senior curator at Foam, photography museum (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) where she worked on over seventy group and solo exhibitions at the intersection of (contemporary) photography and media like sculpture, video, painting and performance. Kim is currently based in Amsterdam.