Birthe Piontek

Birthe Piontek is an Associate Professor of Photography at the Audain Faculty of Art, Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada. She holds an MFA from the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany, and has been a prominent visual artist since 2000, focusing on photography, installation, sculpture, and drawing. Her work interrogates themes of memory, identity (particularly female identity), and societal structures through interdisciplinary practices.

Education:

• MFA in Communication Design and Photography, Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen, Germany

Research Interests: Piontek’s practice expands beyond two-dimensional photography to include sculptures and assemblages that challenge the authority of photographic evidence. Her projects like Zero Hour (2021–2024) examine Germany’s post-WWII history and democratic fragility, while Abendlied (2018) explores familial memory through her parents’ decline due to dementia. She frequently uses archival materials, collages, and historical texts to question collective memory and identity formation.

Awards & Grants:

• SSHRC Institutional Grant (2024)
• Edward Burtynsky Grant (2018)
• Prix Pictet nomination (2014)
• Critical Mass Book Award (2009)

Teaching & Projects: As a faculty member, Piontek mentors students in photography and conceptual art. Her recent exhibitions include solo shows at the Hedreen Gallery (Seattle, 2023) and collaborative projects like Passages with the Collective Agency Project (2021–2022). She is also a member of the Piece of Cake Project, emphasizing interdisciplinary creative collaboration.

Labs & Teams: Her work often involves public art installations, such as the Lacuna project at Vancouver’s Broadway-City Hall SkyTrain Station (2019), blending sculpture and photography in urban spaces.