Rebecca Sampson is a German-American photographer living in Berlin. Her photographic work has tackled a wealth of socially and personally sensitive topics—from Berlin‘s African drug dealer community, through the treatment of eating disorders to the parallel lives and ambiguous sexual identities of Hong Kong’s Indonesian housemaids. Her passion is for reportage and social commentary. For her picture stories, she does extensive research and writes her own texts.
Rebecca studied photography under Prof. Ute Mahler at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin. She has won the "gute aussichten – junge deutsche fotografie" award and holds scholarships from the Foam Museum Amsterdam, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Literary Colloquium Berlin (LCB). Her work has been exhibited, among other places, at the Museum Deichtorhallen, Haus der Photographie, Hamburg, at the Willy- Brandt-Haus, Berlin, and internationally in America, Hong Kong, India, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Cyprus and China. Her book “Apples for Sale” was published by Kerber Verlag.
AWARDS and SCHOLARSHIPS
2020 Shortlist Format Festival UK
2018 Foam Museum Scholarship FRV Amsterdam
2018 Kassel Dummy Award, Shortlisted as one of the best international photobooks of 2018
2018 gute aussichten deluxe
2018 Nominated for Vonovia Award
2018 Artist in Residence V54 Hong Kong
2018 Scholarship China Center for Science and Technology, Technical University Berlin
2016 Scholarship Robert Bosch Foundation / Literarisches Colloquium Berlin
2011 Nominated for Joop Swart Masterclass (World Press Photo)
2011 Winner of the award „gute aussichten – young german photography 2010/2011“
2011 PX3 Silver, Student Category / Portrait
2010 Finalist New York Photo Festival, Student Social Documentary Essay
EDUCATION
2011-2013 Postgraduate Masterclass, Prof. Ute Mahler and Robert Lyons, Ostkreuzschule, Berlin
2009 Final project supervised by Prof. Ute Mahler
2006-2017 Seminars with Thomas Meyer/Ostkreuz and Ute Mahler/Ostkreuz, Andreas Herzau, Gisela Kayser/Willy-Brandt Haus, gute aussichten Plattform/Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Gesellschaft für Humanistische Fotografie/Berlin
2006-2009 Ostkreuzschule – School of Photography and Design, Berlin, Germany
2005-2006 School of Photography, Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin, Germany
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Technical University Berlin, Exhibition "Diamond Love", ongoing
2022 Stadthaus Ulm, "Apples for Sale" Single Show
2022 Kunstverein Schloss ob Ellwangen
2020 "Apples for Sale", LCB Literarisches Colloquium Berlin
2020 "Apples for Sale", Museum für Fotografie Braunschweig
2019 „Die Anderen sind Wir", Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für moderne Kunst, Cottbus, Eröffnung 16. August 2019
2019 "The Sampsons", Kunsthalle Lüneburg, 28th of June 2019
2019 "Apples for Sale" Fotodoks Munich, Festival: 16. Oktober - 20. Oktober, Ausstellung bis 24. November, Lothringer13 Halle
2019 "Apples for Sale", Single show, Goethe-Institute Shanghai, 23. May - 25. August 2019
2019 "Apples for Sale", group show Vonovia Award, Kunstmuseum Bochum, 24. May - 25. August 2019
2019 "AUSSEHNSUCHT", KUB Galerie, Leipzig
2019 "Apples for Sale", group show Vonovia Award, Kommunale Galerie Berlin
2018 „Apples for Sale“, Foam Museum Amsterdam November 2018
2018 „Apples for Sale“ Book Presentation, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 7.Dezember 2018, 7pm
2018 „Apples for Sale“, Vonovia Award Exhibition, Düsseldorf, December 2018
2018 „Apples for Sale“, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong
2018 „Apples for Sale“, Gallery Technopolis 20, Paphos, Cyprus
2018 „Apples for Sale “, gute aussichten DELUXE, Haus für Photographie, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
2018 „Apples for Sale“, Kulturbäckerei Lüneburg, Juli 2018
2018 „Apples for Sale“, TU Berlin, Germany
2018 Retrospektive einer Zusammenarbeit, Modefotografie unter Prof. Ute Mahler, Kunststiftung des Landes Sachen-Anhalt, Halle Saale
2018 „Apples for Sale“, Goethe Institute Cyprus
„Apples for Sale“ Buch, Kassel Dummy Award, Wanderausstellung 2018/2019:
PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin/Ireland, May 2018
documenta-Halle, Kassel/Germany, Fotobookfestival, May/June 2018
Deichtorhallen Haus der Photographie, Triennial of Photography, Hambug/Germany, June 2018
Istituto Europeo di Design, Madrid/Spain July 2018
FotoLeggendo, Rom/Italy, June 2018
International Photography Festival, Zagreb/Croatia, September 2018
Photography Seminar Litauen, Nida/Lithuania, September 2018
Photobook Week Aarhus, Aarhus/Denmark, October 2018
Internationale Photoszene Köln, Cologne/Germany, September/October 2018
Zentralbibliothek im Kulturpalast Dresden, Dresden/Germany, November 2018
The Tokyo Art Book Fair, Tokyo/Japan, Spring 2019
2017 „Apples for Sale “, Museo de la Cancilleria, Mexico City, Mexico
2017 „Apples for Sale“, KLEISTER, Berlin, Germany
2015 „The Sampsons“, Keep Your Eyes Peeled, Aff Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2014 „TRANSIT“, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Berlin, Germany
2014 „TRANSIT“, KLEISTER / Courage, Berlin, Germany
2013 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, gute aussichten - heimspiel, Haardter Schloss, Neustadt/Weinstraße, Germany
2013 „TRANSIT/POST“, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
2013 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, Golgatha Kirche Berlin, Germany
2012 „AUSSEHNSUCHT“, Anita Neugebauer – photo art basel, Das Verborgene Museum, Berlin, Germany
2012 „TRANSIT“, Görlitzer Park, Berlin, Germany
2012 „AUSSEHNSUCHT“, Künstlerhaus k/haus, Vienna, Austria
2012 „AUSSEHNSUCHT“, Rathaus Tübingen, Germany
2011 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, „gute aussichten – junge deutsche fotografie 2010/2011”,
2011 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, Haus der Photographie, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
2011 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, vhs photogalerie, Stuttgart, Germany
2011 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, Goethe Institut, Washington D.C., U.S.
2011 „Das Geheimnis bleibt- Modefotografie von Ute Mahler und Schülern”, Burg Giebichenstein, Halle, Germany
2010 „The Promised City / Glückssucher”, Willy-Brandt-Haus , Berlin, Germany
2010 „The Promised City / Glückssucher”, Centrum 1500 m2, Warsaw, Poland
2010 „The Promised City / Glückssucher”, Piramal Gallery (NCPA), Mumbai, India
2010 „AUSSEHNSUCHT / Born to be wild?”, Musée d'Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg, Luxemburg
2009 „AUSSEHNSUCHT”, Jüdische Mädchenschule, Berlin, Germany
LECTURES, WORKSHOPS AND TALKS
Technical University Berlin, Diamond Love, Seminar SoSe 2021
Konfuzius Institut Hannover, Diamond Love, Seminar SoSe 2021
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 2020
University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld, 2020
Academy of Fine Arts, HGB Leipzig, 2020
POSTPONED due to Coronavirus outbreak: Artist Talk at Rockbund Art Museum Shanghai, China
UN Headquarters Nicosia, Cyprus, Visual Voices Conference: ARTS-BASED PEACEBUILDING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE, Feb. 2020
Framing Identity, Museum für Photographie Braunschweig, January 2020
Technical University Berlin, Homosexuality in China, 2019
Fotodoks, Festival for Contemporary Documentary Photography, Munich, 2019
Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 7.December 2018, Book Launch
Fachhochschule Potsdam, Urban Future Talk 4, 2019
Baptist University Hongkong, China, 2018
Museumsnacht, Amsterdam, FOAM Museum, 2018
The Power of Documentary Photography, Goethe-Institut Hongkong, China, 2018
Technische Universität Berlin, Human rights in China, 2018
Freie Universität Berlin, Love in China, 2018
Lange Nacht der Fotografie, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 2018
Technische Universität Berlin, 2017
Präventions- und Beratungsstelle für Essstörungen, Tima e.V. Tübingen, 2016
Berggrün Gymnasium Berlin, 2012
Kinder und Jugend Psychatrie, Uniklinik Köln, 2012
PUBLICATIONS
Die Anderen sind Wir, 2019, Exhibition Catalogue, 112 Pages, ISBN: 978-3-942798-09-9, BLMK
The Sampsons, 2019, Exhibition Catalogue, 88 Pages, Edition Kunstarchiv, German / English
Fotodoks Vis-À-vis, 2019, Exhibition Catalogue, 97 Pages, FOTODOKS e.V., Munich,
Apples for Sale, 2018, Kerber Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7356-0534-4, 144 Pages, 92 colored illustrations, Hardcover, German/English
emerge 011, 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-036295-8, 20 x 25cm, Softcover, German, 229 Images, 276 Pages
gute aussichten-junge deutsche fotografie // new german photography 2010/2011, Exhibition Catalogue, German/ English, 240 Pages