About
FOTOTREFF Berlin is a non-profit initiative committed to the mediation and promotion of contemporary photography.
FOTOTREFF Berlin enables and shares current photographic discourses in a variety of formats.
The activities of FOTOTREFF Berlin center around evening events with guests from all niches of documentary and artistic photoland: professional photo practitioners and enthusiasts from various fields, editors, artbuyers, photographers, curators, art dealers, book makers, publishers and more. The curated program of the events is made up from different modules that are – for each edition – combined in ways most appropriate for the chosen topic and guests.
In 2020, FOTOTREFF Berlin received publication funding from VG Bild-Kunst.
In 2023, the German Photographic Society (DGPh) honored FOTOTREFF Berlin with an honorable mention as part of its education award.
Our formats
In the FOTOTREFF TALK format our guests present current works in a one hour conversation with each other, leading to an open Q&A session with the audience.
The BOOK SLOT module features selected publications in book and magazine format, from book dummys in the making via experimental zines to finished publications.
During the SHOW+TELL format photographers present works in progress. They get the opportunity to discuss questions and perceptions with the audience and gather inspiration and ideas that will take their work a step further.
Present team
In 2025 the team members are: Andressa Clemente, Jule Fechner, Katrin Kamrau, Sara-Lena Maierhofer, Sonja Neuschwander, Robert Rausch and Ana Rodriguez Heinlein.
For more info on out team members see the short bios below.
Origin and former members
FOTOTREFF Berlin was initiated in 2014 by photographer Anna Charlotte Schmid and photo editor Tobias Laukemper (linktr.ee/tobias.laukemper). Apart from the founders other team members since then supported FOTOTREFF with their passion, skills and expertise: photo editor Julia Brigasky, artist Anna Fraire, galerist Pauline Friesecke, strategist Nico Mayrock, photographer Annika Nagel (https://www.instagram.com/annika_nagel/), picture editor/agent Vanya Pieters (https://www.vanyapieters.com/), picture editor Inka Recke, artist Sarah Straßmann (http://sarah-strassmann-fotografie.de/), photo editor Ann-Christin Ziegler.
Mail: info(at)fototreff-berlin(dot)de
Instagram: @fototreffberlin
Supporters
Apart from the team members, there are many other friendly folks, partners and sponsors, who help, assist and support our activities in many ways. Thank you very much!
If you are interested to learn more about FOTOTREFF Berlin, if you would like to show us your work, get involved in our projects, support us or collaborate with us, please get in contact and: let’s talk about photography.
Andressa Clemente
Andressa Clemente is a Berlin-based Brazilian artist who explores the photographic image based on its social role. From the appropriation of pre-existing images to the conception of new photos, she addresses through her works the discussion about collective perception, time and memory. After graduated in Photodesign from the Lette Verein in 2022 she decided to study Museology at University of Applied Sciences Berlin. For the FOTOTREFF Berlin Andressa is committed to connect different Berlin actors in the field of photography.
Jule Fechner (artist)
In her artistic work, Jule Fechner deals with a broad spectrum of socially relevant topics and visualizes them in multimedia images. As a member of FOTOTREFF Berlin, she places the following questions on the agenda: How can breaks in photography be created, image realities broken up and unconventional image compositions created? With the goal of deepening her knowledge in the curatorial field, Jule is particularly involved in the concept development of the FOTOTREFF Berlin events.
Katrin Kamrau (visual artist and distributor)
In her visual works, Katrin Kamrau deals with the processes of image production and image perception with regard to their social implications and normative functions within Western societies. She studied Photography and Media at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld and Visual Arts at the Academy of Arts in Ghent (KASK). Katrin contributes to FOTOTREFF Berlin because she is convinced of the dialogical principle as a possibility for common exchange and learning within her profession. She would like to strengthen the visibility of Eastern and Central European positions and the associated discourses.
Sara-Lena Maierhofer (visual artist and lecturer)
Sara-Lena Maierhofer lives and works as an artist and mediator in Berlin. In her photographs, objects and video works, she explores the past and present of memory and identity, combining modes and concepts of analog and digital photography. She completed a classical training as a photographer before beginning her studies in photography and media at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld, which she completed with a diploma in 2011. To this day, these technical fundamentals play an important role in her understanding of the medium of photography. She has been involved in designing the FOTOTREFF events since 2021, focusing increasingly on discourses of visibility and participation.
Instagram: @sonja_schwan
Sonja Neuschwander
Sonja Neuschwander studied Cultural Studies with a focus in art and Business Management (BA) in Lüneburg and Cultural Studies (MA) in Berlin. Her academic focus is art sociology in which she explores the entities of the artist signature and art inheritance.
www.robertrausch.de
Instagram: @rr.photosomething
Robert Rausch (Cultural mediator, UX strategist, photobook lover)
Robert Rausch develops concepts and strategies for communication. After completing a master’s degree in visual anthropology with a thesis on “Cultural Identity and Private Photography,” he manages content-rich digital projects for clients in business, media and culture. In 2019, he enthusiastically studied picture editing at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin and came to FOTOTREFF Berlin through that. Most recently, he worked for museum4punkt0, a digital cultural education project with 27 museums. At FOTOTREFF Berlin he supports the mediating and editorial activities and fundraising. Robert loves photobooks and zines and sometimes writes short Insta-pearls about them.