Adam Broomberg

Adam Broomberg
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Born	(1970-11-11) 11 November 1970 Johannesburg, South Africa
Nationality	South-African
Citizenship	South-African
Years active	1986–present
Known for	Artist and human rights defender

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. 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.

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.

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, where he met Oliver Chanarin, a fellow student who would become his frequent collaborator.

Teaching and Academic Career

Adam 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. 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.

Collaboration with Oliver Chanarin

In the early 2000s he formed a creative partnership with fellow artist Oliver Chanarin (born in London, 1971). Both were awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for their publication War Primer 2. Their work has been celebrated for its intellectual rigor, technical innovation, and ability to spark meaningful dialogue. Several exhibitions, projects and publications have resulted from this collaboration until they parted with a retrospective in Barcelona:

Exhibitions

2021

• The Late Estate Broomberg & Chanarin, Fabra i Coats Centre D'Art Contemporani, Barcelona, Spain

2019

• WOE FROM WIT, Synthesis Gallery, Berlin, Germany

2018

• Broomberg & Chanarin: Divine Violence, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
• Fig-futures, WEEK 3 / Broomberg & Chanarin, Kettles Yard, Cambridge, UK
• Bandage the knife, not the wound, Nogueras Blanchard Gallery, Madrid, Spain
• Bandage the knife, not the wound, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2017

• Not For Publication And Sale In Iran, Ag Galerie, Tehran, Iran
• The Bureaucracy of Angels (commission), Kings Cross St. Pancras, Art on the Underground – TFL, London, UK
• Trace Evidence, Lisson Gallery, Milan, Italy

2016

• Don’t Start With The Good Old Things But The Bad New Ones, C/O Berlin, Berlin, Germany

2015

• Every piece of dust on Freuds couch, Freud Museum, London
• Rudiments, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
• People in Trouble Laughing Pushed to the Ground, Belfast Exposed, Belfast, UK
• To Photograph the Details of a Dark Horse in Low Light, Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Divine Violence, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

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".

Baby it's Cold Outside

In 2016 just before the Brexit referendum he and Oliver Chanarin designed and sold ethically made t-shirts bearing the slogan "Baby It’s Cold Outside" referencing the 1940s eponymous Baby, It's Cold Outside|Christmas song to protest against a possible exit from the European Union|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.

Selected solo work and exhibitions

In addition to his collaborative projects, Adam Broomberg has worked and has exhibited internationally. His photographs often evoke a sense of intimacy and vulnerability, encouraging viewers to confront uncomfortable truths and question established norms. His solo exhibitions have been held in galleries and institutions worldwide, including the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. His work is included in the collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City|New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Listed below are the most recent:

• (2022) Adam Broomberg "Glitter in My Wounds" @ Signs and Symbols, New York, USA
• (2021) Matthew Krouse, Kunsthallo, London, UK
• (2020) Bureaucracy of Angels (online), signs and symbols, New York, USA

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
• Yokohama Triennale: Islands (catalog), Constellations & Galapagos

2016

• 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, Adam 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)

2014

• Infinity Award, International Center of Photography, New York, New York (together w. Chanarin)

2013

• Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, The Photographers Gallery, London, UK (together w. Chanarin)

2004

• Vic Odden Award, Royal Photographic Society, Bath, UK (together w. Chanarin)

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, 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". 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. In another project Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was invited to an “informal conversation” in regards to how the pandemic challenged social interaction.

Criticism

In February of 2023 he defended himself in a Zeit article against allegations of Antisemitism by Stefan Hensel, the commissioner against Antisemitism for Hamburg. Broomberg said he was afraid about his future in Germany and defended his support for BDS.

He spoke out in a 2021 taz article 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. 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.

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