Adam Broomberg (born November 11, 1970) is a South-African artist, art educator and activist currently based in Berlin, Germany. He is the co-founder and coordinator of the NGO Artists + Allies x Hebron alongside the Palestinian activist Issa Amro.[2] Broomberg's work often explores themes of conflict, power, and the representation of truth in contemporary society. Despite his prolific career, he remains committed to challenging existing power structures and using art as a means of fostering social change. His work continues to inspire and provoke viewers, inviting them to critically examine the world around them and confront uncomfortable truths.[citation needed]
Early life and education
He grew up in a politically charged environment during the Apartheid era, which profoundly influenced his later artistic practice. Broomberg's upbringing in a racially segregated society shaped his awareness of social inequalities and fueled his desire to challenge dominant narratives through his work.[citation needed]
In 1998, Broomberg received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art from the University of Cape Town. He later pursued a Master of Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, University of London,[1] where he met Oliver Chanarin, a fellow student who would become his frequent collaborator.
Teaching and academic career
Broomberg teaches and has held various academic positions.
He was professor of photography at the Hochschule für bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg, Germany, from 2015 to 2021.[3] He was a faculty member on Photography & Society at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK in the Hague (a course he co-designed). Broomberg's commitment to education extends beyond the classroom, as he frequently leads workshops and lectures at international institutions.[citation needed]
In the early 2000s he formed a creative partnership with fellow artist Oliver Chanarin (born in London, 1971).[4] Both were awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for their publication War Primer 2.[5] Their work has been celebrated for its intellectual rigor, technical innovation, and ability to spark meaningful dialogue.[6] Several exhibitions, projects and publications have resulted from this collaboration until they parted with a retrospective in Barcelona:[7]
Exhibitions
2021
The Late Estate Broomberg & Chanarin, Fabra i Coats Centre D'Art Contemporani, Barcelona, Spain[8]
2019
Woe from Wit, Synthesis Gallery, Berlin, Germany[9]
2018
Broomberg & Chanarin: Divine Violence, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France[10]
In 2013 he and Oliver Chanarin "spent a month in South Africa" to highlight the skin colour bias of photography during Apartheid when they took pictures "on decades-old film that had been engineered with only white faces in mind.[23] They used Polaroid's vintage ID-2 camera, which had a "boost" button to increase the flash – enabling it to be used to photograph black people for the notorious passbooks, or "dompas", that allowed the state to control their movements."
Spirit is a Bone
Another project with Oliver Chanarin is Spirit is a Bone in which they try to tackle the dangers of facial recognition (e.g. in Russia) which highlights how the photographed faces do not show any contact between object and photographer and, reduced to their jobs, thus become "[...] the digital equivalent of a death mask".[24]
Baby It's Cold Outside
In 2016 just before the Brexitreferendum he and Oliver Chanarin designed and sold ethically made t-shirts bearing the slogan "Baby It’s Cold Outside"[25] referencing the 1940s eponymous Christmas song to protest against a possible exit from the EU. "My family escaped Europe before the holocaust, I grew up in Africa, I learnt to be an artist in Italy and I’ve lived in England for 20 years. I feel at home in the world.” said Broomberg in an interview with Dazed Digital.[26]
(2020) Bureaucracy of Angels (online), signs and symbols, New York, USA[30]
Selected bibliography
2023
Vitamin C+: Collage in Contemporary Art (book), edited by Rebecca Morrill, Phaidon Press: London & New York ISBN 978-1-838665-57-9
Rubin, Birgitta, "Fantasieggande vårprogram på Magasin III" (Imaginative spring program at Magasin III), Dagens Nyheter, March 1
2022
Ruka, Elīna, "The (art) world of Adam Broomberg," FK Magazine, October 6
Phearse, Terrence, "Adam Broomberg: Rare and Bare", Musée Magazine, Issue No. 27, June 2022 signs and symbols | New York, New York | www.signsandsymbols.art
Sanchez, Gabriel H., "The Camera Bag: Great Photography to See Now", PhotoSpark, January 25
Glitter in My Wounds, signs and symbols, New York, New York ISBN 978-1-913620-36-3
Capone, Emily, ”EXHIBITION REVIEW: Adam Broomberg with CAConrad and Gersande Spelsberg” Musée Magazine, January 12
2021
Glitter in My Wounds (monograph), Adam Broomberg + CAConrad + Gersande Spelsberg, MACK, London, UK. ISBN 978-1-913620-36-3
2017
Benjamin und Brecht: Thinking in Extremes (catalog), Akademie der Künste
Co-Art: Artists on Creative Collaboration (book), Ellen Mara De Wachter, Phaidon. ISBN 978-0-714872-88-9
Das Gesicht: Bilder, Medien, Format (catalog), Deutsche Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
In/Visible War: The Culture of War in Twenty-First-Century America (book), Rutgers University Press
Photography And Collaboration: From Conceptual Art To Crowdsourcing (book), Daniel Palmer, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350008-31-1
Emanations: The Art of the Cameraless Photograph (book), Geoffrey Batchen, The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and DelMonico Books – Prestel. ISBN 978-3-791355-04-7
Il y a de l'autre (catalog), Julie Jones and Agnés Geoffrey, RM/JUMEX
Watched: Surveillance, Art and Photography (catalog), Cornerhouse Publications
2015
Art & Religion in the 21st Century (book), Aaron Rosen, Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500293-03-4
Art in the Age of... (catalog), Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art
COLORS: A Book About a Magazine About the Rest of the World (book), Damiani / Fabrica. ISBN 978-8-862084-24-6
Perspectives on Place: Theory and Practice in Landscape Photography (book), J.A.P Alexander, Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-472533-89-0
Rudiments (catalog), Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle
Awards and recognition
Throughout his career, Broomberg has received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to the field of contemporary art.
2018
Photo Text Book Award at the Arles Photo Festival, Arles, France (together w. Chanarin)[31]
2014
Infinity Award, International Center of Photography, New York, New York (together w. Chanarin)[32]
2013
Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, The Photographers Gallery, London, UK (together w. Chanarin)[33]
2004
Vic Odden Award, Royal Photographic Society, Bath, UK (together w. Chanarin)[34]
Activism
When he was 16 he founded a political organisation called "Linx" in South Africa alongside other young students such as Yaёl Farber aimed at conscientising young white South Africans about Apartheid.
Hands off our Revolution
Later the same year he complained about the art market (notably Miami Basel) doing "business as usual" after the election win of Donald Trump. To “counter the voices of modern fascism”, Broomberg created Hands off our Revolution,[35] a collaborative web-based art project involving artists, thinkers and researchers. “The language of revolution has been usurped by the right again,” opens the manifesto. “This time, the threat, in the form of Donald Trump’s ‘whitelash’ fascism, is not just apparent in the United States. Trump’s election has emboldened the right wing throughout the world.”
Artists + Allies x Hebron
Founded by Broomberg this initiative focuses on the extensive surveillance methods created by Israeli authorities to monitor Palestinians in and around Hebron. Because of their extensive use of facial recognition technology it is therefore dubbed "Facebook for Palestinians".[2] This same technology was used in a project called "Counter-Surveillance: H2" in which technology that was previously used to watch Palestinians was converted to protect the olive tree harvest.[36] In another project Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was invited to an “informal conversation” in regards to how the pandemic challenged social interaction.[37]
Criticism
In February 2023 he defended himself in a Zeit article[38] against allegations of Antisemitism by Stefan Hensel, the commissioner against Antisemitism for Hamburg.[39] Broomberg said he was afraid about his future in Germany and defended his support for BDS.
He spoke out in a 2021 taz article[3] against the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK) which ended their collaboration with him since he identified the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as "apartheid". Furthermore he asked artists worldwide to pull their artworks out of the Zabludowicz Art Trust. According to Broomberg, Spinwatch and Middle East Monitor reports, Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz and his wife Anita Zabludowicz have amassed an internationally exhibited art collection of 5,000 works to date; however, the Art Trust is supposedly funded by arms money from Israeli industries.[40] Poju Zabludowicz reportedly obtained his fortune through his father's arms trade. "It is now well known that the Zabludowicz family is central to the relationship between Britain and Israel," Broomberg says.[41]