Werker Collective a.k.a Werker is a long-term multifaceted project about photography and labour initiated by Marc Roig Blesa and Rogier Delfos in Amsterdam in 2009. The collective started as an editorial project releasing ten issues of a contextual publication called Werker Magazine.
Its starting point is the Worker Photography movement, a group of associations of amateur photographers that appeared in Germany in the 1920’s, following in the steps of the first socialist photography experiments in the USSR which extended into the rest of Europe, the United States, and Japan. It takes an interest in working methodologies based on counter-archiving, self-representation, self-publishing, image analysis, and collective learning processes.
Werker aims to expand the notion of self-publishing into a variety of media such as moving image, digital publishing, installation, printed matter and performance. Werker operates contextual, thus exploring different forms and strategies of interaction with a variety of audiences. Through several projects, in the last ten years, Werker has created an international community of allies, exploring notions of collective authorship, queerness, reactivating oppressed histories and worker’s solidarity.
Some of the art venues where Werker Collective has developed and/or presented work are: Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain / MACBA, Barcelona, Spain / De Appel. Amsterdam, The Netherlands / CCA U-Jazdowski. Warsaw, Poland / FOAM. Amsterdam, The Netherlands / FRAC PACA. Marseille, France / Winterthur Fotomuseum, Parallel events Manifesta 11, Switzerland / Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow Photomonth, Poland / La Capella, Barcelona, Spain / TENT, Rotterdam, The Netherlands / Fondazione MAST, Bologna, Italy / CA2M, Móstoles, Spain / Galería La Moderna, Collateral program XII Havana Biennial, Cuba / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands / The Showroom, London, UK / Leo Xu Projects. Shanghai, China / Kiosko Galería, Santa Cruz, Bolivia / García Galería, Madrid, Spain / 1st of May Public Library, Moscow, Russia / Tate Modern, London, UK / Casco, Utrecht, The Netherlands / Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Matadero, PhotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain / Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam, The Netherlands / La Virreina Centre de la Imatge, Barcelona, Spain.
Contact
Werker Collective Geldersekade 74 1012 BL Amsterdam The Netherlands
2019 ‘The Giant Floating Eyeball’ KABK. Den Haag, The Netherlands.
2019 ‘Werker Materials 4/5/6 — Memòria popular d’un barri obrer’ Sala Pepita Casanellas, Barcelona.
2018 ‘Queer 2 Peer Cine Club’ (Series of 4 screenings, debates & workshop) CAC Vilnius, Lituania.
2018 ‘365 Days of Invisible Work’ with Taula en Defensa dels drets de les treballadores de la llar i les cures. MACBA, Barcelona.
2018 ‘Bilderkritik 11 — Street’ Casco, Utrecht.
2018 ‘The Insurgent Family: Reassessing the Anthropocene’ Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2018 ‘Preliminary Studies Towards de Nieuwe Nieuwsmarkt’ with Rietlanden Women’s Office & Experimental Jetset. De Appel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2018 ‘Queer 2 Peer Cine Club’ (Series of 4 screenings & debates) CCA Ujazdowsky Castle. Warsaw, Poland.
2018 ‘Werker 10 — Escola de Fotografia Popular’ (Series of 12 Workshops with Dar Chabab, Baixem al Carrer, Susoespai & Table in Defence of House, Care Workers & Cleaners). Fundació Antoni Tàpies. Barcelona, Spain.
2017 ‘The Very House of Difference: Self-publishing & Togetherness’ Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2017 ‘Salon REBEL REBEL: Fanzine, Art & Culture’ FRAC PACA. Marseille, France.
2017 ‘The best photography books of the year’ PHotoEspaña. Madrid, Spain.
2017 ‘Collaboration: The Essence of Counter-Culture’ FOAM. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
