Together with German documentary photographer Max Ernst Stockburger, American photographer and art professor Christopher Sims documented the daily lives and interiors of the residents, as well as the surrounding landscapes of the U.S. military bases in Hohenfels and Schweinfurt. The project's aim is to capture the influence of global conflicts, migration, and the impact of American military and cultural presence on these areas. In June, the exhibition DANUBIA was showcased at the University of Passau.
At the exhibition's opening, Christopher Sims shared insights into the creation of his photographs with the visitors. He also expressed his gratitude to Prof. Dr. Karsten Fitz, at whose Chair of American Studies/Cultural and Media Studies he worked as a PICAIS Fellow from February to July 2024. He noted that one of the semester's highlights was collaborating with students on this exhibition. The photographs selected for the exhibition depict the German architecture of the buildings on the military bases and their usage by the American military. The Student Services Niederbayern Oberpfalz provided the Kultursalon for the exhibition.
Further exhibitions are planned.
“I am grateful for the support of PICAIS and the American Studies Chair, Professor Dr. Karsten Fitz, for helping to bring this exhibit to campus, which documents the complex transnational encounters which are happening on American military bases in Bavaria. A highlight of the semester for me was working with my students to curate and install the exhibit in the wonderful space at the KulturSalon. My students will become English teachers or will work in international business, and I hope the practical work we are doing in our class helps prepares them for their challenges ahead in navigating multi-lingual and multi-cultural spaces.” Christopher Sims
About Christopher Sims
Christopher Sims, the recipient of the Baum Award, teaches at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in Durham, NC, USA, and has worked as a photographer for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Sims has also worked with several non-profit organizations. For his project "Guantánamo Bay," he traveled to the detention camp in 2006 and 2010, photographing the facility and its surrounding architecture. His work has been published in the "Washington Post," "BBC," "Roll Call," and "Flavorwire." In 2021, he published the book "The Pretend Villages," which documents the simulated Iraqi and Afghan training villages on U.S. military bases over fifteen years.
Photographer Max Ernst Stockburger grew up near the U.S. military base in Schweinfurt and documented the American presence's influence on his hometown in a photobook, for which he won several awards.