The exhibition offers a selection of works produced by 58 young talents during their Photography Bachelor curriculum at ECAL. All these images were chosen by exhibition curator Nathalie Herschdorfer, who has developed several internationally acclaimed projects around emerging photography, as well as by Milo Keller, head of the Photography programme at ECAL, and Alexis Georgacopoulos, ECAL director. The scenography of the exhibition is created especially by Swiss designer Adrien Rovero. The “ECAL Photography” book (296 pages, 385 images) supports this event. This book is produced by art publishers Hatje Cantz, with a worldwide reputation for their catalogue of publications on photography.
An art school is an image factory. New generations of artists are constantly emerging, joining the marathon of exhibitions and publications from the very first years of their creative lives. In this context, the art school has become a particularly attractive place for ambitious young artists. This book features a selection of works by photography students from one of the world’s top art universities: ECAL, in Lausanne, Switzerland, an institution commited to training artists, graphic designers, industrial designers, typographers, filmmakers, interaction designers, and photographers. Here, students create freely, question the traditional genres, explore new territories, and experiment with and beyond their media. The works revealed by the “ECAL Photography” exhibition and collected in the eponymous book are bound to trace the beginnings of innovative practices in photography.
Publication « ECAL Photography » - 296 pages / 385 images / French and English, 26,5 . 35 cm / 50 Euros / ISBN 978-3-7757-3725-8 .
Edited by ECAL (under the supervision of Alexis Georgacopoulos, Director of ECAL, Nathalie Herschdorfer, independent curator and art historian, and Milo Keller, Head of Bachelor Photography), 2013
Art Direction by Julien Gallico & Olga Prader - With interviews from visiting artists and photographers at ECAL realized by Nathalie Herschdorfer including Adam Broomberg, Brice Dellsperger, Jason Evans, Thomas Mailaender, Paolo Roversi, Maurice Scheltens & Liesbeth Abbenes, Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs et Joachim Schmid.
Published by Hatje Cantz: www.hatjecantz.de
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BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Maisie Cousins
The aim of this workshop, led by photographer Maisie Cousins, is to use photography as a tool to broaden our powers of observation. During the week, students explored macro photography to create miniature and abstract worlds using everyday objects and accessories. This invites us to reflect: what else are we overlooking in our immediate environment?
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Philippe Jarrigeon
Drawing on Moncler’s Alpine heritage, its timeless style, and its technical mastery, the ECAL Bachelor Photography students developed their own interpretation of the brand’s visual language, blending documentary photography with staged scenes, and merging reality with fiction, under the artistic direction of French photographer Philippe Jarrigeon. As part of Paris Photo 2025, the students’ work was showcased at the Moncler boutique on the Champs-Élysées.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Douglas Mandry
This workshop brought together ECAL graduate artist Douglas Mandry, the Polaroid Foundation, and around thirty Bachelor Photography students. They had the exceptional opportunity to work with a camera that produces Polaroid films in a 40 × 60 cm format and weighs nearly 200 kg. This experience was made possible thanks to its operators, John Reuter and Harriet Browse, who introduced the students to the use of this unique device and the Polaroid Foundation team. Douglas Mandry provided the project’s artistic direction and supported the students in their experiments carried out directly with and on the films. The final result was presented as a collective exhibition on ECAL’s premises, revealing a particularly rich diversity of approaches and visions.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
by Adel Debabéche
Ouled El Bahdja offers an intimate glimpse into Algerian youth, caught between waiting and the desire to leave. This project explores the mental and physical space of a generation dreaming of elsewhere, in a country where the future feels suspended. It is a portrait of a fragmented daily life, where time stretches into boredom, yet a quiet tension remains—between resignation and hope. An attempt to capture those in-between moments, those gazes turned toward Europe—a collective fantasy, a promise of recognition, but also an uncertain path... Ouled El Bahdja sheds light on a youth that, despite sociopolitical constraints, seeks to build a meaningful existence. A gesture to make visible the dreams and desires for emancipationborn in the shadows.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
by Belinda Kiela
The images in this edition are fragments of an immersion at the University of Kinshasa : a glimpse into student life in a vibrant, ever-moving capital. Through laughter, doubts, and encounters, the photographer has learned to anchor herself in a daily life far removed from the one she knows in Europe. Bana ya Mbóka — children of the country — gives a face to the youths who study, dream, and resist on this campus. Founded in 1954, UniKin aimed to be a leading African institution, but instability slowed that vision. Despite strikes, power cuts, and limited resources, the students she has met exude strength and clarity. This project reveals moments of connection, gestures of resilience, and hopes that persists through it all.