Vernissage on the 20th of November 2026 at PHOXXI – Haus der Photographie Temporär at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg

Tomorrow’s Ghosts – (Time) Spirits of Photography

Ghosts are more than just characters from stories. They represent things that are technically in the past but still haunt us. In the 2020s, we encounter such “ghosts” in many ways: Artificial intelligence generates deceptively realistic images, digital filters alter our appearance, and even on social media, people talk about “ghosting” when others suddenly disappear.

The past, too, is often closer than we think. Old conflicts, memories, and ideas continue to have an impact to this day. At the same time, the climate crisis reveals what has long been hidden—in the landscape as well as in our history. Melting glaciers, for example, lay bare traces of times gone by and remind us how closely the present, past, and future are intertwined. The uncanny helps draw our attention to such traces. It draws our gaze to what is hidden, overlooked, and what lies between reality and imagination. In doing so, it can be eerie, moving, humorous, or surprising. In photography, this concept ranges from 19th-century spirit photographs to images created today using artificial intelligence. The central question is always how images reveal, alter, or recreate our reality.

“Tomorrow’s Ghosts” invites artists and photographers to explore these traces, apparitions, and transitions and to develop new perspectives on our present.

International experts in the fields of contemporary photography, exhibition curation, collections, research, and publishing nominated artists for the first edition of Expanded Horizons. From the submitted proposals, an international jury selected eight winners.

The selected artists will receive prize money to use at their own discretion, as well as production funding if needed. The prize also includes participation in the exhibition at PHOXXI Hamburg, a public engagement program, and a publication. In addition, artists will become part of the alumni program and network and gain access to professional development opportunities, including a Winter School.

The first jury consisted of the following members:

Mirelva Berghout is a curator of photography and image-based art, focusing on pop culture, representation, and decolonization. She worked at the Foam Photography Museum, among other institutions, before becoming the curator of photography at the Stedelijk Museum.

Kai-Michael Hartig is the director of the Culture Division at the Körber Foundation. In his work, he develops and oversees international projects at the intersection of art, social change, and public discourse.

Nadine Isabelle Henrich is a curator and art historian specializing in photography, media art, and synthetic image practices; her work addresses politics of visibility and the deconstruction of colonial and normative narratives.

Matthias Pfaller is an art and photography historian and curator specializing in Latin America, Europe, and the Anglo-American region, and he examines photographic practices in the context of coloniality and queer theory. He currently works as an assistant curator at the Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou.

Mykola Ridnyi is an artist born in Kharkiv who holds a visiting professorship at the University of the Arts Berlin. His cross-media practice combines film, installation, and photography with political-historical research and, through documentary-fictional montages, explores questions of violence, memory, and collective experience.

Anastasiia Batishcheva
Mai Do
Teresa Fischer
Nora Handsley
Lisa Mazenauer
Pavle Nikolić
Vincent Völker
Cedrik Zellweger