Kids Love
Photography
Photography
Kids❤️Photography is a Europe-wide network of curators, academics, photographers, educators and book lovers dedicated to promoting the creation, distribution and appreciation of photography for young audiences.
Jan von Holleben is the founder and director of Kids❤️Photography. He has been working with and for children in the field of editorial and artistic photography for over 20 years, winning awards around the world and publishing more than 20 children's books that are translated in up to 17 languages. The founding members include Dr. Vreni Hockenjos, Laurence LeGuen, Dr. Mareike Stoll, Elisabetta De Lucia and Diletta Colombo. Through our collective endeavours, we aim to encourage the development of innovative and engaging photographic events that capture young people and stimulate their imagination and cultural awareness.
Jan von Holleben (DE/ EN/ FR) / Director of K❤️P
studied history and theory of photography at SIAD (UCAS)/ UK. He began his career as a photographer and now works primarily as a curator, author and publisher for children. He works across many areas of photography. He is the book editor of the children's programme at Little Steidl and head of the Kids❤️Photography book series at Les Grandes Personnes. Jan is the founder of four photography collectives. He devotes much of his energy to designing workshops and curating photography exhibitions for children.
Jan has gathered an extensive group of skilled photography people for Kids❤️Photography:
Vreni Hockenjos
(DE/ AT/ SE/ EN)
is a Vienna-based researcher, writer, curator and educator in the field of photography. She has a PhD in cinema and media studies from Stockholm University, Sweden. Together with Thomas Wiegand, she curated the pioneering exhibition “For Kids Only?! Exploring Photobooks for Children” for the Photobook Week Aarhus 2023. Currently, she is working on a children’s book about the history of photography.
Dr. Mareike Stoll
(DE/ SE/ EN)
holds a PhD from Princeton University. Her dissertation (2015) was awarded a research prize by the DGPh and analyzes photobooks between 1924 and 1937 as schools for seeing. The resulting book was published in German in 2018. Currently, she is writing a monograph on photobooks for children from 1970s onwards with a focus on Gabriele Lorenzer, Tana Hoban and artists from Scandinavia.
Veronica Nicolardi
(IT/ EN)
specializes in the conceptualization and execution of cultural events, exhibitions, and photography festivals, overseeing all key stages of production. She is the co-founder of OTM Company and since 2021 the Director at Cortona On The Move international photography festival. In 2022 she co-founded the Yeast Photo Festival and in 2023 she co-founded OTM Gallery working as curator for photography exhibitions.
Diletta Colombo
(IT/ EN)
is a bookseller since 2002 and a founding member of SpazioB**K, Milan's specialized bookshop in illustrated books for all ages, of all genres, from all over the world. Her focus is on communication and creating reading experiences in unexpected ways.
Frédérique Destribats
(FR/ EN/ ES/ PT)
is an independent book publisher and a translator with a focus on photography and art, supporting photobook publishing for kids with a grant established with Institut pour la photo de Lille (FR). She has been researching several public and private children’s photobooks collections.
Marta Szymańska
(PO/ EN)
is a photography curator from Poland. In 2014 she founded the international photo festival in Lodz: Fotofestiwal. She also co-founded the Fotofestiwal Collective, which tests collective, democratic ways of working and managing a cultural project.
Anna Schäflein
(DE/ EN)
is a traditionally trained photographer within portraiture who set up her own photographic studio in Hamburg. She assists and directs projects with kids in Jan von Holleben’s Berlin studio since 2014 and in her own practice as workshop leader in institutional education for young people.
Florian W. Müller
(DE/ EN)
started off with working in radio and television before committing full time to be professional photographer in editorial, commercial and fine art. He is a member of the BFF and DGPH Germany and the AOP in the UK. When he is not travelling aorund the world for his work, he is passionate about teaching and discussing photography in workshops and lectures.
Carmen Liuzzi
(IT/ EN)
is CEO of OTM Company since 2021 and is involved with the photo festival Cortona on the Move since its inception in 2011. Her responsibility shifts between finance, management control and human resources. She also has experiences in communication and marketing, both fashion and advertising.
Mike Gamio
(ES/ PT/ EN/ DE)
is co-owner of the agency Fotogloria | Office for photographic collaboration, based in Hamburg (Germany). He is specialized in clients from the world of corporate communications. With his wide network of photographers and directors (still and moving images) he produces visual components globally.
Leoni Marie Hübner
(DE/ EN/ FR)
works as a photographer and exhibition designer, based in Hamburg. They’re an active member of the Focus Agency and the Friends of the House of Photography (Deichtorhallen Hamburg) and has a background in music and dance. Marie studied Historical Musicology and French Literature before she graduated in Communication Design and Photography in Kiel and Paris
Elisabetta De Lucia
(ES/ IT)
is an art historian, researcher and educator. She is writing a doctoral thesis on photobooks for children at the crossroads of contemporary art, books and childhood. She is the founder of the web platform Photobook4kids.
Tout va bien
Vera Muratet / Départ pour l’image 2023
puts the gaze ofchildhood at the center and mixes it with drawing, opening up questions about looking andbeing in the world
Diletta's choice
Tout un monde
Le coffret collector, Katy Couprie/Antoine Louchard
Photography crosses the world, with a linear reading process or with an entry at willfrom any point or with cards where everyone can create their own order and their own freeassociations with the world around
Diletta's choice
How old am I?
JR - Inside Out project, Phaidon 2021
Photography comes to life with acollective artistic process
Diletta's choice
Ciccì Coccò
Bruno Munari/Enzo Arnone, Corraini 2000 Phaidon 2021
Alongside the contemporaryproduction that attracts me, this book comes from my childhood, it still remains the only book that portrays the naked bodies of children in freedom, faithful to their way of expressing themselves and entering into relationships.
Diletta's choice
The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy
Ursus Wehrli, Chronicle Books, 2013
Human beings compare, categorize, organize in an attempt to know and understand reality. Wehrli does so with humor and self-mockery toward an attitude that borders on obsession, to the point of carefully ordering even the chaos of the universe with its immeasurable mystery of stars and planets.
Elisabetta's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Coffee Break
Massimiliano Tappari, Corraini, 2015
In my opinion Massimiliano Tappari's most beautiful photobook, a delight for children, but also for grown-ups and very grown-ups.
The iconic Moka, an everyday object for Italians of every latitude, is photographed in details that emphasise its lines. Form becomes narrative, the object's decomposition is transformed and recomposed into a visual tale.
Elisabetta's choice
Coffee Break
Massimiliano Tappari, Corraini, 2015
In my opinion Massimiliano Tappari's most beautiful photobook, a delight for children, but also for grown-ups and very grown-ups. The iconic Moka, an everyday object for Italians of every latitude, is photographed in details that emphasise its lines. Form becomes narrative, the object's decomposition is transformed and recomposed into a visual tale.
Elisabetta's choice
Da lontano era un'isola
Bruno Munari, Emme Edizioni, 1971
Bruno Munari plays with points of view and the ambiguity of photography. He challenges the clichés of photography by showing us an island... which is actually a stone! Truth is always a problematic issue in which limitless imagination finds its place.
Elisabetta's choice
Da lontano era un'isola
Bruno Munari, Emme Edizioni, 1971
Bruno Munari plays with points of view and the ambiguity of photography. He challenges the clichés of photography by showing us an island... which is actually a stone!
Truth is always a problematic issue in which limitless imagination finds its place..
Elisabetta's choice
Do You Know What I'm Going To Do Next Saturday?
Helen Palmer/Lynn Fayman, Beginners Book, 1963
An American story from another time, or maybe not. Tommy is a young boy who brags a lot, invents adventures that leave his friend literally speechless. Photography materialises his invented tales, in which there are perhaps too many guns and too many uniforms. it is the American myth, which does not seem so different today. It makes us reflect on the continuities and discontinuities of the times we live in.
But in this book I love the powerfull energy of the photographs and the graphic solutions made of strong contrasts between the lemon yellow of the pages and the black and white of the images.
Elisabetta's choice
Taka Chan and I
Eikoh Hosoe / Betty Jean Lifton, MeMo 2023
Told in a classic children book manier, this photo book is about the truly adventurous and magical story of Runcible, a Weimaraner (does he know Man Ray by William Wegman?!) who digs a hole from Cape Cod all the way to Japan.
Jan's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Parade - Les Elephants Peints de Jaipur
Charles Fréger, Les Grandes Personnes 2017
This book is a big surprise to many photo book lovers since Charle’s work is widely known. Originally a documentary project, this huge book works wonders as a cultural and social science book with giant heros.
Jan's choice
Parade - Les Elephants Peints de Jaipur
Charles Fréger, Les Grandes Personnes 2017
This book is a big surprise to many photo book lovers since Charle’s work is widely known. Originally a documentary project, this huge book works wonders as a cultural and social science book with giant heros.
Jan's choice
Alphabet Book
Tierney Gearon, Damiani, 2013
My all time favorite and incredibly artistic ABC book is by this amazing visual magician.
Jan's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Kinderbilderbuch
Jesper Høm/ Sven Grønlykke, Reich Verlag, Luzern 1976
This picture book is truly one of my favorite photo books for kids. It is entirely without text and always juxtaposes two full bleed photographs on a double page which are originally totally unrelated.
Jan's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
New York City Babe
Yoshinori Mizutani, Atelier EXB 2019
To me that’s a great example, when an artist’s book speaks to more than just one audience and when the work becomes totally democratic, including kids obviously.
Jan's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
James & Other Apes
James Mollison, Chris Boot, 2004
I noticed how these images tapped into my subconsciousness and my own archive of reading human faces. I started matching them with my limited knowledge, projecting various human traits onto the apes. In the end I was left with having to read the book from the start again, trying to learn from scratch how I read faces.
Jan's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Compter en s'amusant
Doisneau, La Guilde du Livre/CLairefontaine, 1955
Laurence's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Sac à Tout, Mémoires d'un petit chien
Séverine, Félix Juven, 1903
Coups de projecteur - Sac à Tout, par Séverine, 1903 | ROSALIS (toulouse.fr)
Laurence's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Carnet de voyage auprès de mon arbre d‘Edmond de Garenne
Thierry Dedieu,Editions du seuil, 2022
This is a journal by a rabbit about garden wildlife beautifully combining photographs,sketches and text. The entire book is done with so much attention to details that it even includes a rubber strap, just like a regular notebook would have.
Vreni's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Magic Candies
Heena Baek, Amazon Crossing (2017), 2021
This book uses small quite special looking figures (of clay?) that the author placed intomysterious settings and then photographed. She includes the text (or sounds) in highly creative ways. And the story is not so easy to crack, so it is worth going back to and study thebook anew.
Vreni's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Qui suis-je?
Claire Dé, Les Grandes Personnes, 2018
I am a big fan of Claire Dé in general. Just daring to make a leporello that is 7 meters long is something that I absolutely applaud, pure joy really.
Vreni's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
The Colours We Share
Angélica Dass, Aperture, 2021
This is a good example of how a larger art project can also be packaged in a way that itappeals to children and the message it conveys – celebrating the diversity of skin color – isjust so important.
Vreni's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Bons baisiers de Paris
Francesco Acerbis/Arianna Tamburini, Thierry Magnier, 2018
It is about a dog visiting Paris who sends postcards to his friends and family at home. Thebook contains a lot of flaps that kids can open so that the black-and-white photographs open up into new colorful graphic worlds. Flaps and dogs – what more could one ask for?
Vreni's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Wow SugarWOW
Jan von Holleben, Adventure Journal 6, 2022
Technically this is not a children’s book, but a journal and yet it is a favorite of my daughter, who just loves looking at these playful combinations of candy and colors!
Vreni's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
New York City Babe.
Everyday things for Babies
Mary Steichen Martin/ Edward Steichen
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1930 (reprint 1991 by Fotofolio)
It is just what the title promises: a concept book für Babies with everyday things from the Babies immediate surroundings. It’s a beautiful example of one of the first photobooks specifically for very young children: babies (as obvious from the title). Mary Steichen’s pedagogy was very much before her time, now neuroscience has confirmed that very young children see black and white shapes and that engaging with them helps stimulate brain activity. The book is amazing on more than one level, the photos by Edward Steichen, Mary Steichen’s father, are beautiful and the book as such seems to be inspired by photobooks and their typologies like Renger’s “Die Welt ist schön” or Blossfeldt’s “Urformen der Kunst” (both 1928).
Mareike's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
I read signs
Tana Hoban, Greenwillow Books, 19832017
I just love the playfulness that Tana Hoban uses for her books, this is just one example of her many books that are around. The reading of signs and text in this book is choreographed to playfully engage with the image sequence, the first and last picture depict signs on doors “come in: we are open” and “sorry, we are closed” respectively.
Mareike's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
Minnas Alfabetsbok ("Minnas Alphabet Book")
Tove Frank (photographs and “clownery”) and Glenn Larsson (text), published in 2019
A variation of the hugely popular ABC book format, it invites us to investigate visual literacy and alphabetization through photography quite literally: the letters are formed using photographs of Minna, the clown protagonist.The C for “bicycle” (cykel in Swedish) is easily and playfully accessible, the text celebrates the power of language and rhymes and is set in a font that underscores the theme of clownery. The paper is very smooth and invites young and older fingers to trace the paper - neurologically enhancing y/our understanding and grasping of photography and words.
Mareike's choice
JUNIOR MEMORY
Gabriele Lorenzer, Ravensburger 1969
Obviously, this is not a book. But it is one of the first photographic works for children that has deeply engrained itself into my memory. I loved playing memory with this as a kid. When finding it again in my parents basement I was so happy - especially because Vreni had included it in her exhibition, I now feel very attached to it.
Mareike's choice
Memory
Gabriele Lorenzer, Ravensburger 1969
Obviously, this is not a book. But it is one of the first photographic works for children that has deeply engrained itself into my memory. I loved playing memory with this as a kid. When finding it again in my parents basement I was so happy - especially because Vreni had included it in her exhibition, I now feel very attached to it.
Mareike's choice
New York City Babe
Antonio Rovaldi, Les cerises, 2017
At the invitation of the publishing house Les Cerices Antonio Rovaldi turns to childhood the 'investigation of landscape perception that characterizes his artistic practice. The result is a book of extreme visual elegance, in which photography, illustration and graphic design come together to return unexpected visions of New York City.
Elisabetta's choice
