History

Galleri Image was founded in 1977 as the first public gallery for photography in Scandinavia, and for many years, was the only one of its kind in Denmark. Since then, we have gained an international reputation as a non-profit exhibition space that has contributed significantly to the recognition of photography as an independent art form.

Through the years, Galleri Image has featured exhibitions with works by world famous photo, video and performance artists such as Diane Arbus, Duane Michaels, Imogen Cunningham, August Sander, Christer Strömholm, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Fontcuberta, Martin Parr, Carlos Garaicoa, Wang Ningde, Mario Cravo Neto, Kyungwoo Chun, Amy Stein, Jane Jin Kasien and Katarzyna Kozyra. Our artistic programme includes artists from Denmark and abroad, many of whom we tour internationally. Art festivals, artists and curators from Asia are frequently our collaborators. Galleri Image promotes current advancements in the field of camera-based art and presents 5-7 yearly exhibitions with photography, video as well as performance- and installation art. Beyond exhibiting well-established and recognised artists, we work to identify and support emerging Danish and international artists, offering a stepping-stone for young artists to further their careers. With a focus on diversity and fresh artistic visions, we offer high quality fine art experiences. As part of an effort to support emerging talents and international collaboration, we have organised a number of residencies for international artists.

In conjunction with our exhibition programme, Galleri Image presents several seminars and symposia dedicated to discussing and uncovering the latest research and tendencies in the world of contemporary art, with participation from artists, relevant curators, and academics from all over the world. In addition to our exhibitions with internationally renowned artists, it is part of our agenda to support the emergent art scene and contribute to the local as well as international community of artists. We collaborate with Danish and international curators as well as art institutions, and participate in international festivals and networks. In the past few years, we’ve curated travelling exhibitions in China, South Korea and India as well as several European countries. We also participate actively in the Nordic Photography Network, which we founded in 2012 and which consists of several sister organisations in Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden.  

Since 2014, Galleri Image has organised and conducted the annual Photobook Week Aarhus in collaboration with the Aarhus School of Architecture. The programme represents an ongoing investigation on the development and role of the photobook as an artistic medium and is curated by international experts.  

In 2014, Galleri Image became a member of The Danish Association of Art Centres. The association was established in 1992 and consists of 18 public art institutions today.

October 2017 marked the culmination of the project FRESH EYES - International Artists Rethink Aarhus, a collaboration between Galleri Image and the Aarhus Centre for Literature. The project was initiated in 2013 and during this period, eleven international photographers and seven writers were invited to Aarhus. Here, they became acquainted with the city and had dialogues with the local population. Their artistic visions of how to rethink Aarhus was presented in an exhibition at Galleri Image, through photo, audio, and video installations in the urban spaces of Aarhus as well as through readings, workshops, and seminars at Godsbanen.  

We are also part of PARALLEL: European Photo Based Platform, supported by the European Commission through the programme Creative Europe. PARALLEL consists of a network of 20 European cultural institutions and festivals with Portuguese Procur.arte. The project was partially established to strengthen cooperation in the European photo art world.