Kummer & Herrman we design stories

The Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam safeguards our national photographic heritage and makes it relevant to today’s international context. In doing so, the museum exhibits photography that reflects the world we live in and shares it with society in order to enrich people’s lives with visual stories that matter.

As a national platform and ambassador for photography, the Fotomuseum aspired to create and curate a permanent exhibition that honored photography as a contemporary and topical medium. As a result, the idea for the world’s first permanent Gallery of Honour of Dutch Photography was born…

In the Gallery of Honour, 99 photographs tell the story of photography in the Netherlands from its invention in 1841 to the present day. It starts off by showing the earliest examples of photographs, known as daguerreotypes, and showcases work by dozens of photographers who explored boundaries, developed new techniques, and brought about innovation – from black and white images to color photography and the digital age. Through six time periods, the visitor is taken through the fascinating development of 180 years of photography.

The selection was made by a special committee of experts and includes the work of dozens of photographers who are artistically and socially distinctive and question the world as we know it.

Visitors can add their own +1 photo with a special app during their visit to the Gallery of Honour. This app also provides visitors with engaging visual and audio stories about the uniqueness of each of the 99 photographs and why they deserve a place in the Gallery of Honour. Emphasis is given to include a variety of voices as the stories are told from different perspectives. Together with DOOR, K&H conceptualized, designed and developed the app.

Apart from the development of the spatial and graphic exhibition design, K&H was closely involved in the process of conceptualizing the main statement of the Gallery. In close collaboration with the museum’s team, K&H developed theleading concept for this unique exhibition. Within this idea of ‘99+1’, the public decides: the exhibition consists of 99 iconic works, and one empty frame. That blank space symbolizes the photograph which – consciously or unconsciously – was not chosen or overlooked, unknown or not (yet) appreciated. Visitors are invited to pick this ‘missing photo’ themselves and engage in a discussion about the meaning of photography.