"Between proximity and distance" - Sarah Johanna Köster has hit the nail on the head with the theme of the Ennepe-Ruhr 2021 Art Prize. For her photo series "Corona Street View - Somehow near but still so far away", the Master's student (Photographic Studies) photographed from a good 6000 kilometers away.
The photos were taken - using Google Street View and FaceTime - between Witten, Sarah Köster's home town, and Philadelphia, where her cousin currently lives. The idea for the extraordinary photographs was initially born out of necessity when a planned trip to the USA became impossible for Sarah Köster during the 2020 lockdown. In a seminar with Julian Faulhaber at Fachhochschule Dortmund, she developed the concept for a remote shoot.
The photographic works and the concept are "more than contemporary and extremely modern", praises Christoph Kohl, Director of the Märkisches Museum Witten and Chairman of the Ennepe-Ruhr Art Prize jury. "I am super grateful and feel very honored to have been awarded the art prize," says Sarah Köster. In addition to the FH student's work, two other art projects were also honored. The Ennepe Ruhr Art Prize is endowed with 1,500 euros each.
The works of the prize winners and the other nominated artists of the Ennepe-Ruhr Art Prize can be seen until April 10, 2022 at the Hattingen City Museum, Marktplatz 1. Opening hours: weekdays 3 to 6 pm, weekends 11 am to 6 pm.