VITA
Sandra Ratkovic (*1980, Frankfurt/Main) is a photographer from Berlin. She focuses on free artistic documentary photography and is interested in capturing everyday activities to tell stories of different places and different cultural norms.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)
Wily-Brandt-Haus, Berlin, Germany (2024)
Levels Gallery, Myth USA, Berlin, Germany (2023)
Street Art in the Countryside, Kunstverein Donnersbergkreis, Germany (2022)
Street Art in the Countryside, SCOPE BLN, Berlin, Germany (2022)
Merseyside and Brexit, Sok Zadruga, Novi Sad, Serbia (2022)
Artist Residency and Exhibition Footnote Centre, Belgrade, Serbia (2021)
Merseyside and Brexit, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, Potsdam, Germany (2020)
Parallel Biographies, Goethe-Institute Belgrade, Serbia (2020)
Parallel Biographies, mitOst Festival, Budapest, Hungary (2020)
Moscow, Kunstverein Hochrhein, Germany (2019)
Moscow, Kunstverein Erlangen, Germany (2019)
Parallel Biographies, City Museum Novi Sad, Serbia (2019)
In and out of EU, FLUCA Austrian Cultural Pavilion, Plovdiv, Bulgaria (2019)
Merseyside and Brexit, Kunstverein Neckar-Odenwald, Germany (2018)
Moscow, Isherwood Gallery, Wigan Arts Festival, UK (2017)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)
That the goddess does not look upwards, but downwards to her friend, Secci Gallery,
Florence, Italy (2024)
Birthmark, Frontviews, Berlin, Germany (2024)
Digital Fairytales, Leo Kuelbs Collection, New York, USA (2022)
Territories, SCOTTY, Berlin (2020)
Hapti(c)k, International Summer of Architecture, xpon Art Gallery, Hamburg, Germany (2019)
Photo Festival Athens, Benaki Museum, Greece (2017)
Not und Spiele, Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin, Germany (2016)
Hotel Bogota, Brotfabrik Berlin, Germany (2014)
PUBLICATIONS
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Street Art in the Countryside, Monographic Catalogue, Kunstverein Donnersbergkreis (2022)
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Merseyside and Brexit, Monographic Photography Book, Hatje Cantz Publishing (2020)
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Moscow. Moscow. Москва, Monographic Photography Book, Hatje Cantz Publishing (2017)
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Exhibition Catalogue “Parallel Biographies”, Museum Novi Sad (2019)
SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS
- Exhibition and Catalogue Funding, Wüstenrot Stiftung (2024)
- Kunst Residenz Kunstverein Pritzwalk (2024)
- Exhibition Funding, Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz (2024)
- Exhibition and Project Funding, C.H.Beck Stiftung (2024)
- Exhibition Funding, Bayerischer Landesverein für Heimatpflege (2023)
- Project funding, Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (2022)
- Artist contacts grant, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (2022)
- Stiftung Kunstfonds Neustart Kultur grant (2022)
- Scholarship Kunstverein Donnersberg (2021)
- Exhibition grant, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (2021)
- VG Bild-Grant (2021)
- Funded Art Residency, Footnote Centre for Art and Literature, Belgrade (2021)
- Artist Catalogue Grant, Stiftung Kunstfonds (2020)
- mitOst e.V. ,project funding for „Parallel Biographies Serbia-Germany (2018)
- Cover photo ”Best of 10 years Zenith Photography Award” (zenith, Stiftung Mercator, and Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland) (2015)
AWARDS
Purchase of the photograph „Melon Stand in Krasnogorsk“ by Artothek collection / Kommunale Galerie Berlin (2025)
Exhibition „InMotion“ Art Award, Kunstverein Hof (2024)
Shortlist German Peace Award for Photography (2023)
Exhibition Art Award, Kunstverein Ottobrunn (2021)
Honourable Mention Moscow Photo Festival (2017)
Nominee Blooom Award (2016)
Cover photo ”Best of 10 years Zenith Photography Award” (zenith, Stiftung Mercator, and Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland) (2015)
PRESS
Spiegel, Zeit, Welt, taz, SWR, Tagesanzeiger Switzerland, Canada L’Express, Photonews, Fotohits, Der Greif, Deutsche Welle Russland, Deutschlandradio, WDR, Erlanger Nachrichten, Mannheimer Morgen, fluter, Black Iris, Tagesspiegel Berlin, Lomography.com, rbbKulturradio, RTV and many more
BACKGROUND
Art History, University of Frankfurt am Main (Master Degree)
imago school for artistic photography, Berlin (photography education)
NEWS
The photograph „Melon Stand in Krasnogorsk“ was bought for the art collection of the Artothek, Kommunale Galerie Berlin, in 2025.
Sandra Ratkovic was selected for the annual artist residency at Kunstverein Pritzwalk, taking place in July 2024
Exhibition NACHLEBEN at Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin, 19.4. to 23.6.2024
Exhibition and photo book are supported by Wüstenrot Stiftung, C.H. Beck Stiftung, Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bayerischer Landesverband für Heimatpflege, Stalag e,V, and Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege
German Peace Prize for Photography 2023
On the shortlist for the German Peace Prize for Photography 2023:
Afterlife / Was bleibt uns übrig.
A photography project by Sandra Ratkovic about guest workers (Gastarbeiter) from Turkey being housed in a former prisoner of war camp in Bavaria
Artist Residency and Exhibition in Belgrade in September 2021, supported by ifa- institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Many thanks to ifa – institut für Auslandsbeziehungen for supporting my upcoming artist residency and exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia, at Footnote Centre for image and text in Belgrade, Serbia.
Scholarship Kunstverein Donnersberg – Artistic Research: Streetart in the Countryside
During my artist residency at the Donnersbergkreis Kunstverein, I deal with the topic “Street Art” in the countryside as a counterpart to street art in urban surroundings. Starting from the town of Obermoschel, I travel the region of Donnersberg – in search of creative intervention, expression, consciously or unconsciously which I capture with my camera by the means of artistic
photography. The search itself determines the direction and fills the theoretical approach with life. I want to get closer to people’s motivation to shape areas creatively that are visible to the public and to take possession of public space to a certain extent.
Stiftung Kunstfonds supports catalogue production for „Merseyside and Brexit“
The production of the monographic artist publication „Merseyside and Brexit“ by Sandra Ratkovic will be funded by Stiftung Kunstfonds, as selected by the jury for 2020
Watch the complete video of my artist talk at Goethe-Institut Belgrade
Full video of my artist talk at Goethe Institute Belgrade on 12.3.2020
With the art historian Sladjana Petrovic Varagic speaking Serbian and me speaking German. At the event, there was simultaneous translation. Thank you Goethe-Institute Belgrade for the kind invitation.
Migration of Artefacts
Sandra Ratkovic is photo artist for the project „Migration of Artefacts“ (2020).
It is about measuring German-Russian memory spaces with the help of travel routes of artifacts.
In cooperation with the DAAD Lektorat Irkutsk (Siberia)
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