Jessica Werneke “From Education to Elitism: Amateur Photography and Photography Clubs in the Late Soviet Period”

On December 1 the Center's research fellow Jessica Werneke gave a presentation “From Education to Elitism: Amateur Photography and Photography Clubs in the Late Soviet Period” at the scholarly seminar of the International Center for the History and Sociology of World War II and Its Consequences

In her presentation Jessica Werneke investigated the phenomenon of amateur photography and photography clubs as they re-emerged in the Thaw era. She addressed amateur photographic aesthetics, amateur participation in photography clubs, tracing the evolution of amateur photography from the 1950s through the 1970s. The following themes were addressed in the presentation: First, why did amateur photography clubs become popular in the late Soviet period? Second, who participated in the censorship of amateur photography, and why? And finally, what can we learn about the history of the Soviet Union through studying amateurism?