Wandering through Berlin, it doesn’t take long to realize just how deeply photography is woven into the city’s cultural fabric. What was once a city defined by division now unites around the lens, hosting a wide range of photographic events that capture its evolving identity. Every two years, EMOP(Europe’s Month of Photography) turns Berlin into a sprawling gallery, with around 100 exhibitions unfolding across its neighborhoods. Spaces like C/O Berlin aren’t just venues, they’re cornerstones of this movement, presenting a dozen exhibitions each year that elevate both rising voices and established artists.

To understand this cultural change I interviewed  Berlin-based photographer Jan Sabottka because he spent twenty years documenting the local art culture in the city. He began his journey into creativity by holding a brush before he ever touched a camera.

Jan Sabottka in a Bucherbogen bookshop.

“I was a painter for a long time,” Sabottka tells me as we walk through one of the latest exhibition of Camera Work Berlin that featured portraits of models. “The art courses and teaching jobs were part of my past work experience. After starting to photograph students for their school website I discovered photography as my new medium. Through photography I built a more authentic way to connect with people in an immediate faster emotional manner.”

His emotional bond with the world transformed into what people recognize as his distinctive style. Active documentation of gallery events in the early 2000s developed into a substantial cultural records of Berlin’s life. “I never studied photography, but my background in painting helped with composition,” he explains. The public now recognizes me 20 years into my career. I feel part of the scene.”

In 2002 C/O Berlin became one of the many photography-focused institutions to rise in the global photographic landscape. “I was there for their second show,” he recalls. This exhibition occupied an open post office building that contained horses in its outside yard. But there was magic. Photo art introduced an energetic novelty which all people wanted in that moment.

In these pictures me and Sabottka walk through one of the latest exhibition of Camera Work Berlin.

Together with an established photographer from a First World Country I interviewed a rising photographer from a developing region, the Georgian street photographer Nina Kunchulia. She considers Berlin as a location where photography plays a central role. Her photographic practice explores normal life activities by documenting market scenes along with public streets and arbitrary human events. “In Tbilisi, more people are starting to take photography seriously,” she says. The city shows great potential for photography yet the lack of connection to established photographers remains a significant barrier to visibility. A lot of it feels unfair.”

During her 2018 visit to Berlin she realized that photography stood at the forefront of the city’s cultural scene. Big art galleries during that period dedicated space exclusively to photographic art pieces. The situation with photography clashes differently in Georgia.

For her traditional art environments seem to preserve obsolete practices. Sculpture along with painting retains its status yet viewers consider these two arts forms outdated due to their repetitive nature. The same big names over and over. The modern sensation of photography appears as contemporary and present-day. Today’s people desire contemporary observation rather than historical perspectives which happened fifty years earlier.

The ability to engage with photography makes this medium a powerful tool. The practice of photography demands no expensive materials nor does it require formal training similar to the requirements of painting. “You just need a camera or even a phone and your own point of view,” Kunchulia says. Berlin provides the perfect environment for young people to express themselves through their photographs. It makes you feel seen.”

Exhibition of a Contemporary African Photography in C/O Berlin.

Still, Sabottka points out that while photography is being shown more often, it doesn’t always mean it’s valued economically. “People don’t buy photography like they do paintings,” he admits. “Galleries will show your work, but they’ll also say, ‘We won’t sell it.’ You do it because you love it.”

Yet the cultural impact of photography is clear. It documents the spirit of the times in ways that traditional art sometimes can’t. It can’t lie like paintings do. “Even during the Cold War, East Berlin photographers captured life in very intimate, emotional ways,” Sabottka says. “And you could feel the difference between the East and the West just by looking at their photos. That’s the power of photography, it’s never neutral.”

Kunchulia agrees. “Photography gives me a way to respond to what’s around me. It’s honest. And in Berlin, it feels like people actually care about it.”

By visiting German capital I could experience this significant evolution firsthand. I toured the expansive halls of C/O Berlin to see master and amateur photography spanning throughout each area. Several days into my visit to Fotografiska Berlin I had the chance to experience multimedia presentations of famous people’s portraits. The two institutions demonstrate distinct character while holding a common characteristic that Berliners are committing to photography exhibitions.

Multimedia photography exhibition in Fotografiska Berlin.

Berlin’s conversion toward photography can be described as poetry. This metropolis that previously separated itself with both physical barriers and political beliefs now exists because it welcomes diverse perspectives and the processes of image creation and historical preservation. As Jan Sabottka said: “Even ordinary photos, over time, become history.” Berlin serves as the canvas where living photographers create modern history through their photography activities.