About
Stefan Falke, photographer
I was born in Paderborn, Germany. After abandoning my civil engineer studies in Aachen and Essen I assisted photographers in Munich and later worked as a silk screen printer in Hamburg. I moved to New York City in the mid 80s for a while and photographed on assignment for German and Austrian magazines. After my return to Hamburg in the early 90s German film studios started hiring me as a set photographer for movies filmed mostly in Europe and Africa. I credit my time shooting stills, portraits and reportages on movie sets with my most important time for becoming a working photographer. Besides those assignments from the studios I started a long-term photography project about a stilt walking school in the Caribbean titled "Moko Jumbies: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad", which was exhibited at the prestigious photo festival "Visa Pour L'Image" in Perpignan/France in 2004 and published as a book by Pointed Leaf Press in New York.
For my ongoing project (since 2008) “LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US – Mexican Border” I photographed about 200 artists on both sides of the 2000 miles long US-Mexico border in order to put a spotlight on the vibrant cultural activities of this bi-national region which is portrayed by politicians and the international media mostly with the sole focus on violent crime and illegal immigration. My work on this project resulted so far in 18 solo exhibitions (Germany, the United States and Mexico) and a book, LA FRONTERA, was published by Edition Faust (Germany); numerous interviews and publications followed, among them in the New York Times, BBC, Wired, Huffington Post …. (see list below).
My latest project about the empty streets of New York during the challenging year 2020 resulted in the self published and award winning book Keep Going New York !!
A series of photos from his book won 2nd place in the Best of ASMP 2020 contest and received a Communication Arts 2021 Award of Excellence, published in the Communication Arts Photography Annual. The photos also won a 2021 ipa (International Photography Awards) 3rd place for street photography and the book got an Honorable Mention in the self published books category. A good year.
My photographs were shown in international galleries, photo festivals and museums, among them Visa Pour l'Image, Perpignan (France), Photoville, Brooklyn (USA), Triennale der Photographie, Hamburg (Germany), Festival Tijuana Interzona (Mexico), IMAS - International Museum for Art and Science, McAllen, Texas (USA), The Cervantes Institute, Frankfurt (Germany), The Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C. (USA), CEART Mexicali, (Mexico), Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York City (USA) ... just to name a few (see detailed list below).
I became a member of the German photo agency "laif / agentur fuer photos und reportagen" in 1999 (Laif is represented by Redux in the US).
My wife Christine and I live in New York City. I speak German and English. A little French too.
Books:
2021 - KEEP GOING NEW YORK: New York City in 2020 - by Stefan Falke / a photographic portfolio. Self published 2021. View and order here
2004 - MOKO JUMBIES: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad - by Stefan Falke / Published 2004 by Pointed Leaf Press, New York. View here
2014 - LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border - by Stefan Falke / (LA FRONTERA: Künstler an der US-Mexikanischen Grenze) published 2014 by Edition Faust, Frankfurt/Germany. View here
Magazines and other print media:
The New York Times, New York Magazine, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, FAZ, Focus, Brigitte, Cicero, Geo Spain, Geo Korea, PHOTO, FotoMagazin, Photographie, Cicero, TAZ, Cinema, Architectural Digest, SonntagsBlick, Sports, Caribbean Travel & Life, Caribbean Beat, Tank, Topos, Verdi, Dogs, Elle, ART, Weltwoche, Schweitzer Familie, The Oxford American, NZZ am Sonntag, Kunstzeitung, La Repubblica Del Donne ...
Corporate magazines:
DHL, Siemens, Union Investments, American Express, Bulthaup
Featured online (click on links for published stories) :
The New York Times, BBC, NBC, The Huffington Post, Wired, aCurator, The FORWARD THINKING MUSEUM, Hyperallergic, L'Oeil de la Photographie, Hahnemühle, FAZ Magazin, Courrier International, Trip Magazin, Photoville, photo-letter, American Photography's ProPhotoDaily, ASMP - American Society of Media Photographers
Corporate interior photography:
Saks Fifth Avenue (since 2012) see work here
Film Studios:
Warner Brothers (Germany), Bavaria Film, Constantin Film, NFP Berlin, Josefine Film, UFA, WDR
Grants:
2012 - Stiftung Kulturwerk der VG BILD-KUNST granted support for my project "LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
Awards:
2021 - IPA - International Photography Awards - 3rd place in category street photography for "Keep Going New York" (see here)
2021 - IPA - International Photography Awards - Honorable Mention in category self published books: "Keep Going New York" (see here)
2021 - CA 2021Award of Excellence - Communication Arts Photography Annual 62 - category: books, for "Keep Going New York !!" (see here)
2021 - Best of American Society of Media Photographers 2020 contest - category series - 2nd place for "Keep Going New York"
2013 - David Chow Humanitarian Award for "LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
Lectures, Presentations:
2021 - Frank Meo's PROJECTIONS / NYC ("Keep Going New York" - book presentation)
2021 - Coney Island USA - Ask The Experts: Stefan Falke - Live with Adam Rinn
2021 - Talk Show "Spin It Social Hour" with Steffen Kaplan (about "Keep Going New York" book) watch the recording of it on YouTube here
2020 - Talk Show "Spin It Social Hour" with Steffen Kaplan (about "LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border") watch the recording of it on YouTube here
2020 - Frank Meo's PROJECTIONS / NYC ("Keep Going New York")
2019 - Frank Meo's PROJECTIONS / NYC ("LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border")
2013 - Rubin Center for the Arts El Paso ("LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border")
Panel Discussions:
2018 - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York: "Art and Migration"
2016 - Phillips Museum, Washington DC: "Migration/Immigration"
Podcasts:
B&H Photography Podcasts - Art Between Us - Photography on the U.S.-Mexico Border
NPR Marketplace - Documenting Art on the US-Mexico Border
Interviews:
Max Hünten Haus Zingst, Germany - "LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border" read (in German) here
Deutsches Haus at NYU - "MOKO JUMBIES: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad" read here
San Diego Free Press - read La Frontera
#FACESOFPHOTOGRAPHY (Interview in German about my work in New York during the Corona Crisis 2020) read here
Moment: New York Blog (German interview about my New York photographs during the Corona Crisis 2020) read here
Reviews:
Reviews in Digital Humanities 2020 (LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US-Mexico Border) Review in Spanish and English here
Solo Exhibitions:
2022 - (to be announced) Germany
"Keep Going New York"
2021 - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York City:
"Keep Going New York" (more information here)
2021 - Galerie Max Hünten Haus Zingst, Germany:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border" (more information and 360 degree photos here)
2019 - Centennial Museum at UTEP, El Paso, Texas:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2018 - American Space Leipzig, Germany:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2018 - Steppling Art Gallery at SDSU Imperial Valley in Calexico, California:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2018 - German-American Center Stuttgart/Germany:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2018 - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York City:
"MOKO JUMBIES: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad"
2017 - d.a.i. Tübingen, Germany (Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut / German-American Institute):
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2017 - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York City:
"The Wall(s)"
2017 - CEART Mexicali, Mexico :
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2017 - Galeria 409, Brownsville, Texas:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2016 - Festival Tijuana Interzona, Mexico, (outdoor exhibition on the border fence):
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2016 - Goethe Institut Washington DC :
"2,000 MILES: DIVIDED LAND, COMMON HUMANITY"
2016 - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2015 - Triennale der Photographie Hamburg :
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2014 - Photoville, Brooklyn, New York :
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2014 - The Cervantes Institute, Cultural Institute of Spain, Frankfurt, Germany :
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2014 - Mexican Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2014 - International Museum for Art and Science (IMAS), McAllen, Texas :
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2013 - The Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C., :
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2013 - La Casa Familiar, San Ysidro, USA:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2013 - La Tentacion Gallery, Tijuana, Mexico, :
"New York Fake Polaroids II"
2012 - La Casa Del Tunel, Tijuana, Mexico:
"LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border"
2012 - La Tentacion Gallery, Tijuana, Mexico:
"New York Fake Polaroids"
2011 - Visa Pour l'Image / Perpignan, France - evening screening:
"Machine Gun Show in Kentucky"
2010 - Visa Pour l'Image / Perpignan, France - evening screening:
"Camp Hope"
2004 - Visa Pour l'Image / Perpignan, France - official festival selection:
"MOKO JUMBIES: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad"
2003 - Visa Pour l'Image / Perpignan, France - evening screening:
"MOKO JUMBIES: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad"
Group Exhibitions:
2021 - The Rockefeller Flag Project, New York, USA
2017 - 2020 - Sierra Club - traveling exhibition, USA:
"Lens On The Border"
2017 - SDSU Downtown Gallery San Diego, USA:
"We Are Here/Somos Aqui"
Portrait: Neil Beckerman neilbeckerman.com