The Man of Family
Workshop with Adam Broomberg
Drawing on the disruption of Edward Steichen's landmark 1955 MoMA exhibition, The Family of Man is a workshop led by Adam Broomberg, organized by PhMuseum in collaboration with the MAST Foundation and Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna.
- Where Aula Magna, Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna (Via delle Belle Arti 54, Bologna)
- When 2 October 2026, from 2pm to 6pm
- Language English
- Enrollment To be announced
- Price Free
- Max participants 60
- Contacts If you have any questions you can reach us at edu@phmuseum.com
Overview
The Workshop
This workshop centres on The Family of Man, the landmark exhibition curated by Edward Steichen at MoMA in 1955, whose meaning remains highly contested.
The exhibition was widely condemned for presenting humanity as universally the same, using sentimental imagery to erase history, politics and inequality and to turn real social conditions into the myth of a single, harmonious “human family.”
Others argue that the exhibition and its accompanying catalogue reveal diverse subjects and contexts and invite reflections on universal rights education, especially considering the optimism of the post-war moment when the exhibition opened.
This tension between myth and human-rights aspiration feels especially resonant now, given how the last few years have shaken our confidence in the possibility of international law and universalist ideals such as human rights.
During the one-day session, participants together with Adam Broomberg, will experiment with disrupting the exhibition’s narrative by physically altering physical copies of the exhibition catalogue using collage, cut-ups and other mechanical techniques.
They will then feed the resulting images into an AI platform to further contest the medium and its message.
Head professor
Adam Broomberg
Adam Broomberg has published over 15 photographic monographs and has exhibited at the world’s most prestigious institutions including Centre Pompidou, The Hasselblad Museum, MoMa and, most recently at the Venice Biennale. His awards include the Deutsche Borse Photography Award, the Arles photo-text book award and the ICP infinity award for his legendary publication The Holy Bible.
During his prolific photographic career he has maintained a commitment to teaching, most recently as Professor of Photography at HfBK in Hamburg and he remains part of the faculty at The Royal Academy of art (KABK) in the Hague where he is practise supervisor.
Part of
Contact us
Reach out at edu@phmuseum.com