PLAYLIST

»PLAYLIST« is a collaborative exhibition of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the Merz Akademie and the Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart (ABK Stuttgart). It displays photographic works of art by 30 students. 

Musical playlists are a core element of youth culture. As a carefully curated sequence of songs with varying tones, rhythms and moods, it becomes something greater than just the sum of its parts. This exhibition offers a multifaceted journey that invites the public to immerse in the shifting atmospheres of each individual project.

The works on display show fascinating connections between applied, documental and artistic photography. The topics are as diverse as the realities of the students’ lives. Personal experiences and daily observations set the tone: The photographic projects shown in this exhibition deal with questions of belonging, community and social influence and explore vital experiences in music as well as touching quotations from favourite books. They focus on spiritual experiences, turn their attention to the routines of everyday life or analyze the emotional state of the young artists in times of the Russian war against the Ukraine.

The students developed the works of art under the guidance of professor Anja Weber (Merz Akademie) and Ulrike Myrzik (ABK Stuttgart). The project is part of a series of collaborations of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart with art academies in »THE GÄLLERY – Raum für Fotografie«. 

Contributing Artists:

Elvin Ayanoglu, Laura Benner, Leonie Bucher, Nele David, Semiha Değirmenci, Lena Zoe Dernai, Emilia Giese, Iliana Glatz, Julia Groß, Miriam Häfele, Sophie Hanna, Serafine Hauschke, Sarah Hendrysiak, Clara Imberger, Alonso John, Melissa Kugele, Alwin Maigler, Lisa Mantel, Ilya Netyosov, Max Schindler, Maxim Schipko, Elia Schmid, Zoe Schmidt, Julius Schröder, Yannick Schroth, Josepha Stolz, Mariia Sviatohorova, Marlene Theiss, Xenia Wahl, Farida Emanuella Womeno-Dassi

Credit: Leonie Bucher, æmilia, aus der Serie »touch me again«, 2025, © Leonie Bucher