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             ABOUT

Chris Becher is a documentary and portrait photographer dedicated to long-term projects that explore themes of identity, social difference, and the lasting influence of history on contemporary life. Drawing from his working-class roots and shaped by his upbringing primarily across Europe with periodic stays in the Americas, Chris works in close dialogue with individuals and communities in both personal and commissioned work. These cross-cultural intersections and the connections between distant places, linked across oceans by the legacies of colonialism and modern capitalism, are a central and growing focus of his work.

Chris’s work has been exhibited internationally, including presentations at Art Rotterdam, Fotografia Europea Festival, Centro de la Imagen Mexico City, Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, Melkweg Amsterdam, MEP Paris, and Deichtorhallen Hamburg, among others. He has received several awards and grants, including the Cultuurfonds Artist Grant (2025), City Archives Amsterdam Documentary Commission Award (2024), FOTODOK Talent Embassy Prize (2024), and the Mondriaan Fonds Emerging Artist Grant (2023).

Holding an MA from the Royal Academy of Art The Hague (KABK), with additional studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) and National University Bogotá (UNAL), Chris works on commissioned assignments and as assistant to renowned photographer Dana Lixenberg. Recent collaborations include FOAM, City Archives Amsterdam, Museum Hilversum, Framer Framed, and publications such as De Correspondent and TRIGGER magazine.

Currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with ongoing projects there, in the US and Mexico, Chris is available for commissions and collaborations aligned with his artistic vision.
     

       AWARDS

           
2025    Behind the Lens Award, Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, NL, Nomination
2025    Cultuurfonds Project Grant, Amsterdam, NL
2024    City Archives Documentary Photography, Award, Amsterdam, NL
2024    FOTODOK Talent Embassy x Fotografia Europea, Utrecht, NL, Reggio Emilia, IT
2023    Emerging Artist Grant Mondriaan Fonds, Amsterdam, NL
2023    FOKUS Program, Mexico City, MEX
2023    FOLLOW Award, Amsterdam, NL
2022    Stiftung Kunstfonds Working Grant, Bonn, GER
2022    Athens Photo Festival Shortlist, Athens, GR            
2021     FOTODOK Lighthouse Talent, Utrecht, NL
2020    Ministry for Culture and Science NRW Working Grant, Düsseldorf, GER

       EXHIBITIONS

2025    ART Rotterdam, Prospects, Ahoy, Rotterdam, NL, g
2024    Fotografia Europea Festival, Palazzo dei Musei, Reggio Emilia, IT, g
2024    Dialogues on Photography Mexico—Germany, Embassy of Mexico, Berlin, GER, g
2024    Dialogues on Photography Mexico—Germany, Städtische Galerie, Karlsruhe, GER, g
2023    FOLLOW Award, Melkweg x Mina Gallery, Amsterdam, NL, g
2023    Dialogues on Photography Mexico—Germany, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, MEX, g
2022    Love Songs x Lusted Men, MEP Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, FR, g
2022    Lusted Men, Dos Mares, International Centre Research Art, Marseille, FR, g
2022    Lusted Men, La Soirée Erotika au La Voir au Public, Lyon, FR, g
2022    Open Studio: On Process and Practice, FOTODOK Foundation, Utrecht, NL, g
2021    Under the Sun and the Moon, HAFNY Humble Arts Foundation, New York, US, g
2021    The Makeable Mind, Noorderlicht Photo Festival, Groningen, NL, g

       PUBLICATIONS

2021    Humming Voices. Writings On Connection, Whiteness And Perception, MA, 80 pages, on demand, The Hague, NL
2019    TRIGGER Magazine #01—Impact, Fotomuseum Antwerp & Fw:Books Amsterdam, 96 pages, 23-26, ISBN: 978-94-90119-82-9, Antwerp, BE, Amsterdam, NL
2018    False Positives. A Meditation on the Broken Promises of Photography, MA Photography Society, KABK, self-published, 78-88, The Hague, NL

           EDUCATION         
                                                
2021—2019    KABK Royal Academy of Art, MA Photography & Society, The Hague, NL
2014—2013    UNAL National University, Bellas Artes & Fotografía, Bogotá, COL
2016—2010    KHM Academy of Media Arts, Diploma Media Arts & Photography, Cologne, GER
         

           FURTHER PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

ong—2025    Mentorship with editor, curator, writer Elisa Medde,
Amsterdam, NL
ong—2022    Assistant to photographer Dana Lixenberg, Amsterdam, NL
2021    Cofounder/-Organiser of Undisciplining Photography     Symposium, in collaboration with KABK The Hague, Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam, RCMC Amsterdam, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, NL
ong—2021    Mentor in honorary capacity for ArbeiterKind («working-class child»), Berlin-based organisation supporting young adults from working-class backgrounds to enter academia.
2021—2019    Supervision of BA students at KABK Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, NL

City Archives, Amsterdam, NL
Lusted Men, Paris, FR
Stadtmuseum Hofheim am Taunus, Hofheim, GER
Diverse private collection

             

       TALKS, LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS

      
2023    Centro de la Imagen, artist talk/panel discussion, Mexico City, MEX
2022    Balcony Podcast, conversation/interveiw, The Hague, NL
2022    FOTODOK Foundation, artist talk, Utrecht, NL
2021     Photography & Society Podcast, conversation/interview, 
The Hague, NL
2021     FOTODOK Take Off, lecture, Utrecht, NL
                   
 

       CLIENTS, FEATURES, PRESS, MENTIONS

De Correspondent, TRIGGER magazine, FOAM, OSCAM, Zeit Online, Framer Framed, Verzetsmuseum, City Archives Amsterdam, Museum Hilversum, Oude Kerk, Der Greif, TAZ, Kunstforum, Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau, Die Welt, Hamburger Abendblatt, Hannoversche Allgemeine, Kölner Stadtanzeiger, Intro Magazine, Form, Hofheimer Zeitung, Stadtrevue Magazine, Hatje Cantz Fotoblog, Kunstaspekte, Matices Magazine, Art Magazine, Pictorial Magazine, White Wall Magazine, MOPO, NDR, SAT1, N24, Schwarweiss Magazine, Profi Foto Magazine, Bild-Akademie, Photonews, Photographie Magazine, Heise, FotoPro, Digital Photo, Jetzt, K.enderlein, Bild.

Beside his artistic practice, Chris Becher runs UNDERDOC Studio, a studio dedicated to bringing visibility to the work of other artists and art institutions in the creative and cultural field. Drawing from his personal background, UNDERDOC studio particular focuses on documenting artists and themes that have been historically underrepresented. From exhibitions and artist portraits to cultural happenings in museums, institutions, and independent spaces, the studio creates precise and high-quality records that help artists and organizations present, preserve, and share their work to a wider audience. UNDERDOC Studio has recently been nominated for the Behind the Lens Award by Kunstinstituut Melly Rotterdam.