The Graz Street Photographer

A City in Motion 1929-1932

30.01. - 31.05.2026

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Duration

30.01. - 31.05.2026

Opening

29.01.2026 19:00

Location

History Museum

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About the
Exhibition

The so-called “street photographers” were street photographers who worked in larger cities and tourist hotspots between around 1927 and 1935. In light of the global economic crisis and the decline in studio commissions, they took advantage of busy squares, streets, markets, and folk festivals to photograph passers-by in a series of three shots.

After the photo was taken, the subjects were given a slip of paper with the image number and the note: “You have been filmed!” Anyone who was interested could pick up the photo strips a few days later. In the case of Graz photographer and street photographer Fritz Taufer, this was possible at “J. Koch's Söhne” on the main square for 1.50 schillings. Examples of walking film photographs have been preserved to this day in numerous Styrian family albums from the interwar period. They not only document the widespread use of this photographic practice, but also illustrate the importance of these images as personal and family mementos.

The exhibition The Graz Street Photographer shows a selection of around 1,200 unclaimed film strips from the collection of curator Mila Palm. They make the little-known phenomenon of walking filmmakers visible, provide a comprehensive insight into everyday life in Graz, and show a unique cross-section of the Graz population in the 1920s and 1930s. At the same time, these photographs mark the beginning of an image practice that lives on in today's snapshot culture, in selfies and in street photography, and raise questions about who is allowed to photograph people in public spaces today, when and under what conditions.

Glimpses

Maria Froihofer, Chefkuratorin Multimediale Sammlungen, Mila Palm, Kuratorin der Ausstellung und Bettina Habsburg-Lothringen, Leiterin des Museums für Geschichte (v.l.)

Image Credits