ARCHIVE

Part of the Laterna Magica Museum collection consists of several unique photo albums donated by families from Denmark, France, Austria, Germany, and Sweden.

In the early years of cameras and photography, photos were something extraordinary, meaning that most were taken by professional photographers in studios or outdoors to document central persons and events.

This exquisite 1897 'Hof Fotograf' album has leather cover, a fine silver relief on the front, a mechanical metal lock, thick cardboard pages with golden edges, and golden photo frames.
The unique album has belonged to a Danish aristocrat family living in the vicinity of the royal Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen. The high-quality, custom made album is a visual archive made to document and preserve the legacy of the family dynasty.
The album includes special studio and outdoor positioning of adults and children taken between 1880-1900 by professional royal photographers.

Immigrant Image Archive collects, preserves, and provides photographs, audio recordings and video films about immigrants in Scandinavia. The aim is to build a visual documentation centre for immigration to the region from 1950 till today.

The archive solely contains images with relation to immigration taken by the immigrants themselves. Hence, visitors to the archive encounter the social realities and experiences of the contributors who are conveying their own stories.

The archive functions as an information and research centre and is open to the public. It consists of an electronic image database, which form basis for exhibitions, talks, publications and electronic presentations.

The archive also organizes public lectures and seminars, and provides professional advice through arrangements addressing the

relationship between the various immigrant societies and the wider Scandinavian society. The purpose of this is to increase the mutual knowledge of the societies and break down social barriers.

Through exhibitions, debates, talks, symposiums, performances, slide shows and film screenings, the archive sheds light on 70 years of immigration to Scandinavia. Simultaneously with this, it passes on knowledge of immigrant societies and enhances the visual dialogue and social interaction.

Immigrant Image Archive was established in Copenhagen 2007 by the art collective Chamber of Public Secrets as an independent, non-profit art project focusing on the visual aspects of immigration. The archive has been donated to Laterna Magica Museum, which continues the documentation of this specific period and phenomenon in Scandinavian history.