Verdiana Albano
Verdiana Albano (*1993) is an Afropean lens-based multidisciplinary artist whose work navigates fragmented memories and circles around socio-ecological themes. Her photographs and installations reassemble remnants of a world shaped by forgetting, displacement, and power structures. Albano’s practice builds on this paradox, using the instability of memory and imagination to expose the sociological conditions that govern how histories are produced and circulated. Her process is rooted in the belief that to remember collectively, we must also question the structures that determine whose histories are preserved and whose are lost. Through rethinking imagery, she constructs new visual narratives that negotiate global interdependencies, postcolonial memory, and economic inequality.
Albano studied Art at the University of Arts and Design Offenbach, with a DAAD-funded stay at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing, China. Currently a member of the master class at Ostkreuzschule, soon she will begin a binational artistic PhD at the University of the Arts Bremen.
Her work has received recognition through the PhMuseum, the ISO 5000 Prize, and multiple Stiftung Kunstfonds grants. Exhibited internationally, including group exhibitions at Les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles, Albano also lectures at HfK Bremen and founded the Afrodiasporic artist network Institute Contemporary supported by the Allianz Foundation Fellowship 2024. She lives and works in Frankfurt and Berlin.
RESUME
education
2024 Ostkreuz School of Photography, Meisterklasse with Ingo Taubhorn and Linn Schröder (03/24-09/25)
2024 Guest semester Curatorial Theories & Practices, Berlin University of the Arts (UDK) with Prof. Dr Angela Harutyunyan (10/24-02/25)
2023 Research Trip „status report“, through South-East Asia, Central Asia, Africa, Oceania supported by Stiftung Kunstfonds Grant (06/22-12/22)
2022 Educational Trip, Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (12/21-02/22) supported by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
2021 Diploma in Art & Design - Media, Photography, Sculpture, Sociology, University of Arts and Design Offenbach (HfG Offenbach (2016-2021))
with Prof. Martin Liebscher, Prof. Mike Bouchet and Prof. Dr. Marc Ries
2021 Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Studies in Global Economics (10/20–02/22)
2020 Diploma minor examination with Prof. Mike Bouchet and Prof. Heiner Blum
2019 Exchange semester at Sichuan Institute of Fine Arts, Chongqing, China (02-08/2019) with 单韬光老师 (Prof. Shan Taoguang) and 逾晓风老师 (Prof. Yu Xiaofeng) supported by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) - Strategic Partnerships
2018 Pre-diploma examination with Prof. Martin Liebscher
prizes
2025 PhMuseum 2025 Women Photographers Grant, Main Prize Winner
2025 Felix Schoeller International Photo Award, Category Winner: Emerging
2025 Jury Prize of 12th Wiesbaden Photo Days (Triennial)
2024 follow up / FUTURES Photography Talent by Friends of Photographie, Deichtorhallen Hamburg
2021 ISO 5000 Prize, Hans and Annemarie Weidmann-Foundation
2020 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Photo Award of the HfG
exhibitions
solo
07-10/2026 “i ain’t from no east coast”, curated by Mariama Attah, Foundation Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, Fothaus ParisBerlin, Les Rencontres d’Arles, France
11/2023 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” Allianz Foundation Summit, Futurium, Berlin, Germany
08-10/2023 “status report,” 1822-Forum — Frankfurter Sparkasse, Frankfurt, Germany
04-06/2023 “building a dream,” Schleuse — Openvillas, Rüsselsheim, Germany
04-05/2022 “Food 4.0,” ISO 5000, Cultural Centre English Church Bad Homburg, Germany
11/2021 “hybridized,” Box, Offenbach, Germany (duo)
09/2021 “The Journey of Liquid Gold,” Roof of the City, Wuppertal, Germany
group
04-06/2026 “i ain’t from no east coast,” Mind the Gap, Meisterklasse Ostrkeuzschule, Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin, Germany
06/2026 “i ain’t from no east coast,” Slow Sabotage & Soft Contact, Gallery Gruppe Motto, Photo Triennial Hamburg - Extended, Germany
02-08/2026 “surrounded,” Human Topographies, Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, Cube, Frankfurt, Germany
09/25-02/26 “i ain’t from no east coast,” Felix Schöller Award, Museumsquartier Osnabrück, Germany
09/2025 “surrounded,” Festival Alt+1000, La Vue-des-Alpes, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
08-09/2025 “i ain’t from no east coast,” Wiesbaden Photodays, Photo Triennial Wiesbaden, Germany
08-09/2025 “i ain’t from no east coast,” MARS Frankfurt e.V., Frankfurt, Germany
06/2025 “nothing half, nothing whole,” ELECTRICITY between Frankfurt and Kapstadt, NONOT Studio, Frankfurt, Germany
06/2025 “status report,” Silk Stories, Japanese Palais, Dresden, Germany
04/2025 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” Arles x Bordeaux, Fotohaus ParisBerlin, Bordeaux, France
03-04/2025 “i ain’t from no east coast,” Un/sichtbar- Generationen, House of the City History, Offenbach, Germany
07-09/2024 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” Les Rencontres d’Arles, MRO, Arles, France
06/2024 “The End has no End,” Old Smeltery, Frankfurt , Germany
05-09/2024 “The Journey of Liquid Gold” & “surrounded,” Stadt der Fotografinnen. Frankfurt 1844 - 2024, History Museum (Historisches Museum) Frankfurt, Germany
02/2024 “surrounded,” Nuit de la Photo, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
11/2023 “status report,” SPEDITION 3.0, JUPITER Hamburg, Germany
07-09/2023 “surrounded,” Les Rencontres d’Arles, MRO, Arles, France
06/2023 “The Fall of a Queen,” saturn oppositions, SATURN, Offenbach, Germany
06-09/2022 “surrounded,” New Works Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Cube Frankfurt Eschborn, Germany
04-05/2022 “Nothing half, nothing whole” SPEDITION 2.0, Remisengalerie, Kulturverein Hanau, Germany
01/2022 “Tafelgold,” Der Palast ist leer, nachtspeicher23, Hamburg, Germany
12/2021 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” zwei:geteilt, Artsalon, Museum five continents, Munich, Germany
12/2021 “What is human honey?” & “Nothing half, nothing whole,” Eat Up!, Mall of Berlin, Germany
09/2021 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” SPEDITION 1.0, Riviera Festival, Parkside Studios, Offenbach, Germany
08/2021 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” Opelvillen, Rüsselsheim, Germany
08/2021 “Nothing half, nothing whole,” Deutsche Bahn Leather Museum, Offenbach, Germany
06/2021 “Don‘t touch my hair,” Kunstverein Frankfurt, Germany
06/2021 “Tafelgold,” Miniaturen, castle museum Pheasantry Fulda, Germany
09/2020 “surrounded,” Interventions #2, posters in Frankfurt and Offenbach, Germany
08/2020 “surrounded,” Artfair-Mannheim, Germany
07/2020 “What is human honey?,” Interventionen #1, Magma Maria, Harbour OF, Germany
07/2020 “What is human honey?,” #hijacked to MUDAM Luxembourg — Instagram
11/2019 “surrounded“ & “Rückblenden,” Abriss, Peng, Mainz, Germany
06/2019 “surrounded,” Beyond the Edges, Chongqing, China
07/2019 “surrounded,” 22nd HfG Exhibition, Offenbach, Germany
07/2018 “Rückblenden,” 21st HfG Exhibition, Offenbach, Germany
curation
07/2025 Institute Contemporary, Group Exhibition, MARS Frankfurt
07/2025 Institute Contemporary, Group Exhibition, Fotohaus ParisBerlin / MRO, Bordeaux, France
07/2024 Institute Contemporary, Group Exhibition, Fotohaus ParisBerlin / MRO, Arles, France
11/2023 SPEDITION 3.0 & SPEDITION MASTERCLASS, Hamburg
04/2022 SPEDITION 2.0, Hanau
12/2021 Eat Up!, Mall of Berlin
09/2021 SPEDITION 1.0, Offenbach
06/2019 Beyond the Edges, Chongqing, China
stipends & grants
2024 follow up / FUTURES Photography Talent
2023-2024 Allianz Foundation Fellow
2022 1822 FORUM Grant
2022 Neustart Kultur of Stiftung Kunstfonds
2021/2022 PROMOS Travel grant from the German Academic Exchange Service
2021 Neustart Plus
2021 Junge Kunst und neue Wege
2021 BMBF Deutschlandstipendium
2021 Create! of Künstlerhilfe Frankfurt e.V.
2021 City of Offenbach COVID-Scholarship
2020 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Award of HfG
2019 DAAD Strategic Partnership
2008-2012 START Scholarship
collections
since 2020 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation
publications
2024 “XL Photography 7”, Deutsche Börse AG, ISBN: 3-96900-147-1
2023 “investments”, 1822-Forum, Frankfurt, ISBN: 978-3-945243589
2023 “Grow Up”, Les Rencontres d’Arles Catalogue, Kehrer Verlag, ISBN: 978-3-96900-141-7
2023 “Diplome”, HfG Offenbach, ISBN: 987-3-945365-40-3
2022 “SPEDITION 2.0”, Catalogue, 150 copies
2022 “The Journey of Liquid Gold — Theory”, WUS
2022 “The Journey of Liquid Gold — Magazine”, 75 copies
2021 “zwei:geteilt”, Exhibition Catalogue, Munich, ISBN: 978-3-946803-91-1
2021 “Balayage”, Artmagazine, 1000 copies
2021 “Nothing half, nothing whole”, SPEDITION 1.0, 1000 copies
2020 “surrounded”, Photo Newspaper, 2000 copies
2020 “Past, Perfekt, Futur”, HfG Calendar, 800 copies
panels & presentations
2025 “Artist Talk with Dr Christina Leber” Managing Director and Artistic Director of the DZ Bank Art Foundation, Künstlerverein Walkmühle, Wiesbaden
2024 “follow up / FUTURES Day”, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
2024 “City, Architecture, Society - Intergenerational dialogue with Verdiana Albano, Laura J. Padgett and Barbara Klemm ”, Historisches Museum Frankfurt
2021 British-German Democracy Forum, Goethe-Institut London
2021 “Diversity in contemporary Art”, Barcamp, Auswärtiges Amt
2021 “Art and Globalisation”, Hertie-Summit, Hertie-Stiftung
2021 “On a Cup of Tea”, START Alumni e.V.
residencies
02/2026 Studiolo Marseille (Studiolo), Marseille, France
02-06/2019 Strategic Partnerships (DAAD), Chongqing, China
PORTFOLIO
“In her layered and multi-dimensional project Verdiana Albano moves through the remnants of East Germany as if sifting through a family attic—lifting files and photographs, as well as furniture. Her work investigates the architecture of a childhood shaped by a white mother, a Black father, and a system already cracking at its seams. Between the posed and the documentary, she threads her own image alongside institutional archives, reminding us that the personal is always political. What emerges is a quiet insistence that identity is not inherited whole, but assembled – piece by piece –across time, place, and possibility.”
Katy Hundertmark, Independent Judge, on Verdiana Albano's i ain’t from no east coast
– PhMuseum 2025 Women Photographers Grant 1st Prize Recipient
