On 23 and 24 September, EHRI’s two expert groups held a successful joint workshop at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in Amsterdam.

It brought together about forty reference archivists, photo archivists, and photo researchers, who discussed concrete sets of images under the expert guidance of Professors Hilary Earl (Nipissing University, Canada) and Simone Gigliotti (Royal Holloway, University of London), who were also instrumental in planning the event. The discussions were about context (the circumstances in which the photos were taken, the identity of photographer, geolocation, and dating); content (what the photographs show and hide, and the stories they tell); and interpretation (such as intended use).

For example, Jürgen Matthäus of USHMM presented new findings with regard to a well-known, terrifying image of a mass shooting in the Ukrainian town of Berdychiv. Special guest Foeke Postma, researcher and trainer at the investigative journalism group Bellingcat, presented the achievements and opportunities of online research and of connecting with the Bellingcat community.

There were also sessions with “lightning talks,” shorter presentations of current projects.

All this worked well to take stock of ongoing activities and to strengthen both each expert group and the ties between the two groups.