Francesca Hummler

About

Francesca Hummler (b. 1997) is a German-American visual artist and researcher working with photography currently based in London, England. She received her B.A. in Media Arts and B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego in 2019. She earned a Master's in Photography with distinction for her dissertation, "American Identity and Photographic Healing", from The Royal College of Art in London, England, in 2022. Interested in issues regarding identity, she draws from her experience as the daughter of German immigrants in the United States to explore the archive, familial intimacy, and generational trauma. Influenced by the concept of photo-therapy Francesca often utilizes self-portraiture to untangle her sense of self. Recently she has expanded her therapeutic practices to photograph others, offering them solace in working through their traumas. 

In 2021 she was selected as one of the laureates of the Carte Blanche Étudiants award and displayed her work at Paris Photo. In 2022, she won the Young Talent Award from the Vonovia Award for Photography and had her work displayed in the Sprengel Museum. Her work was collected by the Odunpazarı Modern Museum in Türkiye, featured in the Hamburg-based magazine Photonews, and she was interviewed by Deutschlandfunk Kultur. In May 2023, she had her first solo in Erlangen, Germany, quickly followed by her second solo show in London in September 2023 as a part of the Deptford X Festival. Recently, her series “Das Kuckucksei” or “The Cuckoo's Egg” was published in the January 2024 issue of Artforum magazine. 



Education
2022 Royal College of Art, Masters of Photography with distinction
2019 University of California at San Diego, Bachelor of Arts, Media
2019 University of California at San Diego, Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry/Chemistry

Solo Exhibitions
2023 "Inherited Histories", Deptford X Fringe, 1831, 50 Resolution Way, Lewisham, London, UK
2023 "Unsere Puppenstube", Galerie Ex-Pfeiffer, Hauptstr. 52, Erlangen, Germany
2023 “Looking for Guerrero”, The Double Cell, National Justice Museum, Nottingham, United Kingdom
2021 "Up in Flames", Windows 187, Greenwich, UK
2018  "Religious Nouns", Kamil Gallery, La Jolla, CA, USA

Group Exhibitions 
2025 Zemin, Berlin
2024 “Unbinding Histories”, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town, South Africa
2024 Ka Space for Visual Culture & Artistic Thinking, Ankara, Turkey
2024 “Bodily”, Silian Gallery, London, UK
2024 The third edition of the Biennale della Fotografia Femminile, Mantova, Italy
2023 "On Motherhood", Kyoto Shibori Museum, Kyoto, Japan
2023 "Familienbande", Fotoforum Dresden, Neustädter Markt 12, Dresden, Germany
2023 "RE/construction", Atelier de l’image, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France
2023 "Portrait Show 2023", Through The Lens Collective, Johannesburg, South Africa
2023 "Becoming Monumental", Autograph ABP, Online and Old Street Digital Billboard, London, UK
2023 "Vonovia Award", Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
2022 "Freedom", The National Justice Museum, Nottingham, UK 
2022 "OD Photo Prize", Photo Book Cafe, London, UK
2022 "After the Waiting Room", Copeland Gallery, Peckham, London, UK 
2022 The Pupil Sphere Graduate Showcase 2022, Online Exhibit
2021 "Portrait Pathways", International Portrait Film Festival (IPFF), Sofia, Bulgaria 
2021 “Opulent Mobility", curated by A. Laura Brody, Monrovia, CA
2021 "All Media 2021", Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA
2021 "KingDom: The Exhibition", with The Feathers of Daedalus Circus, Art Hub Studios, Deptford, UK
2021 "Relax", Analog Forever Magazine, Online Exhibit
2021 "Shaping the Figural Gaze", Kunstmatrix Online Exhibit
2021  "Open Fragment", PRAGMATA COLLECTIVE, Online Exhibit
2021 "Red Velvet", Ashton Gallery @ Art on 30th, San Diego, CA
2021 "Work in Progress 2021", Royal College of Art, Online Exhibit
2020 Annual Photo Exhibit, Elfin Forest Interpretive Center, Escondido, CA
2019 "Here/After", University Art Gallery, Mandeville Center, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
2019 "K/NOT", A Photo Exhibit, VAF 110, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
2019 "Abstraction & Excess: A Group Photography Show", Kamil Gallery, La Jolla, CA     
2019 "Black and White Group Photography Show", La Bodega Gallery, San Diego, CA
2017 "MCASD 25 and Under", Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA

Residencies
2023 11th International Summercampus at Künstlerstadt Kalbe, Germany
2023 Artist in Resident National Justice Museum, Nottingham, United Kingdom
2022 "Studio Vortex" Artist Residency with Antoine d'Agata, Arles, France
2022 Localhost Gallery November Artist in Residence

Fairs
2023 Kensington Dollshouse Festival
2023 Bethlem Art Fair

Instagram Takeovers
2022 Sola Journal

Collectives
2022 - present Unbinding Histories
2021- present Carte Blanche Collective

Press

Museum Collections
2022 Odunpazarı Modern Museum, Eskişehir, Türkiye

Curation
2023  “Through the Lens”, Photofusion,  London, UK

Selected Writing
2024 "Revealing Familial Glitch" in American Glitch by Andrea Orejarena & Caleb Stein
2023 "Post-Photographic Anxiety" in Der Greif
2022 "Herstory Repeats Itself" in Foto Femme United 
2021 "Probing for Peace: A Photographer's Plight" in Foto Femme United

Work
2022 - present Community Manager at Der Greif, an organization for contemporary photography 
2021 - 2022 General Writer at Foto Femme United

Awards
2024 Finalist for Lucie Foundation, “Heritage”, Family/Community Category
2024 Shortlisted for Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2024 Biennale della Fotografia Femminile, Fotofabbrica Prize
2023 Shortlisted for 212 Photography Istanbul
2022 Shortlisted for OD Photo Prize
2022 Best Young Talent, Vonovia Award for Photography
2022 Shortlisted for the Lewisham Arthouse Graduate Award
2022 New Photography Prize, selected by Chris McCormack, Associate Editor of Art Monthly
2022 Shortlisted for Residency Bursary at Landskrona Foto PHMUSEUM Photography Grant
2021 Dissertation Distinction for "American Identity and Photographic Healing" at the Royal College of Art
2021 Carte Blanche Étudiants Laureate Paris Photo
2019 Best in Show winner of Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve 14th Annual Photo Contest 
2017 People's Choice Award, MCASD 25 and Under Contest


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❶Unsere Puppenstube ❷Das Kuckucksei ❸Chance or Family ❹Rituals ❺Looking for GuerreroWriting