Biography
Esther Hovers has exhibited at Aperture Foundation in New York City; Lianzhou Photo Festival in China; and Foam Photography Museum of Amsterdam, et al. Her work has been published in The New York Times; The Washington Post; M – Le Magazine du Monde and Wired, among other publications.
In 2017 she was the winner of the Edward Steichen Award. In 2019 Hovers was an artist-in-residence at NARS Foundation (The New York Art Residency and Studios) in Brooklyn, New York. In 2025 she was an artist-in-residence at AGA LAB in Amsterdam.
She is based in the Hague, the Netherlands.
The New York Times (USA)
M, Le Magazine du Monde (FR)
The Washington Post (USA)
BE Magazine (DE)
Libération (FR)
Raw View (FI)
LensCulture (NL)
Pagina99 (IT)
POP Kultur und Kritik (DE) Wired.com (USA)
British Journal of Photography (UK)
YET Magazine (CH)
Courrier International (FR) DazedDigital (USA)
De Correspondent (NL) Chinese Photography (CHN)
Artist Book: False Positives Published by Fw:Books, 2017.
Collections
–
Dutch Photo Museum, Rotterdam (NL)
ING Bank, The Netherlands (NL)
Steenbergen Collection (NL)
Collection,
Ville de Dudelange (LU)
ADAC Collection, Munich (DE)
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (NL)
Private collections in Stuttgart, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam.
2025
The Art of Navigation
Fotocolectania, Barcelona (ES)
Opening 11/06/2025
Shorthand Poetry
Pennings Foundation, Eindhoven (NL)
05/04/2025 - 19/07/2025
It’s the 21st Century That Expects Everything From You
HAUNT, Berlin (DE)
01/03/2025 - 29/03/2025
2024
Walk this Way
Kunstmuseum Ravensburg (DE)
09/11/2024 - 23/02/2025
Are You Sure You Want to Delete It?
Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Aachen (DE)
27/04/2024 - 01/08/2024
Biennale Della Fotografia Femminile, Montova (IT)
08/03/2024 - 14/04/2024
2023
A Well-trained Eye
Visual Arts Center, University of Texas at Austin, (USA)
22/09/2023 - 02/03/2024
Harry Penningsprijs
Pennings Foundation, Eindhoven (NL)
06/05/2023 - 24/05/2023
The Right to be Forgotten (Solo)
Galerie BOHAI, Hannover (DE)
05/05/2023 – 28/05/2023
2022
Als Wäre Alles Für Immer
Kühlhaus Berlin (DE)
15/09/2022 - 01/10/2022
Festival Images Vevey
Château de l’Aile, Vevey (CH)
03/09/2022 - 25/09/2022
Data Streams
The Glucksman Art Museum, Cork (IE)
02/12/2021 - 13/03/2022
2021
Open Studios Nieuwmarkt
Amsterdam House of A&C (NL)
9 & 10/10/2021
Algorithmic Bias
[Senne], Brussels (BE)
30/09/2021 - 10/10/2021
Resilience, A Personal Story
Kunsthal, Rotterdam (NL)
27/05/2021 - 19/09/2021
Track & Trace
Textile Museum,
Kortrijk / Courtrai (BE)
13/03/2021 - 25/04/2021
Resistant Faces
Pinakothek der Moderne,
Munich (DE)
27/11/2020 - 11/04/2021
2020
New Photography
New Orleans Museum of Art (USA)
06/11/2020 - 06/06/2021
Mind Your Step
Zone2Source, Amstelpark Amsterdam (NL)
04/10/2020 - 29/11/2020
Public Space in times of Covid
Stroom, Den Haag (NL)
03/10/2020 - 01/11/2020
Vu.e de dos
Delta - Namur Art Center (BE)
23/09/2020 - 03/01/2021
Under Observation – Art of Retreat
Villa Merkel, Esslingen am Neckar (DE)
20/09/2020 - 15/11/2020
Nieuwe Ruimte(s)
Orange Art House, Brussels (BE)
03/09/2020 - 31/12/2020
Kutxa Kultur X Getxophoto
Tabakalera, San Sebastian (ES)
03/09/2020 - 27/09/2020
GETXOPHOTO Festival
Getxo, Basque Country (ES)
03/09/2020 - 27/09/2020
2019
Contrôle + Z
Centre d’Art GwinZegal (FR)
23/11/2019 - 23/02/2020
Lishui Photography Festival
Municipal Museum Lishui (CHN)
08/11/2019 - 12/11/2019
The Process Of Calculating One’s Position
NARS Foundation,
Brooklyn, NY (USA)
15/11/2019 - 13/12/2019
SITUATIONS/Deviation
Fotomuseum Winterthur (CH)
18/10/2019 - 23/02/2020
Behind the Seen
NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY (USA)
30/08/2019 - 20/09/2019
Delirious Cities
Aperture Foundation, New York, NY (USA)
25/07/2019 - 29/08/2019
CONTACT Festival
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto (CA)
01/05/2019 - 31/05/2019
Journées Photographiques de Bienne, Bienne (CH)
10/05/2019 - 02/06/2019
Zachtzinnig Radicaal
Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam (NL)
26/04/2019 - 26/05/2019
Prospects & Concepts
Mondriaan Fonds, Art Rotterdam (NL)
07/02/2019 - 10/02/2019
2018
Who’s In Control?
Fotodok, Utrecht (NL)
23/11/2018 - 24/02/2019
Lianzhou Foto
Foto Festival Lianzhou (CHN)
01/12/2018 - 03/01/2019
AE Festival
Postcity Linz (AT)
06/09 - 10/09/2018
Auckland Festival of Photography
At Fort Silo, Auckland (NZ)
31/05/2018 - 22/06/2018
Stadtansichten
Heidelberger Kunstverein
Heidelberg (DE)
05/05 - 08/07/2018
Krakow Photo Month
Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art (PL)
25/05 - 24/06/2018
Screening at BASE Milano,
Milan Digital Week, (IT)
15/03/2018 - 18/03/2018
I Am Here to Learn
Frankfurter Kunstverein (DE)
15/02/2018 - 08/04/2018
2017
Foam Fusion
Foam, Photography Museum
Amsterdam (NL)
09/06/2017 - 11/06/2017
EMOP - Solo Show
Centre d'art Dominique Lang
Dudelange (LU)
06/05/2017 - 09/06/2017
Diffusion International Photography Festival,
Cardiff Bay (UK)
01/05/2017 - 31/05/2017
Watched ! Surveillance Art & Photography, C/O Berlin Foundation (DE)
17/02/2017 - 23/04/2017
Perfect Storm
NRW-Forum Düsseldorf (DE)
02/02/2017 - 12/03/2017
Glut: Images, information and excess
Holden Gallery, Manchester (UK)
16/01/2017 - 03/03/2017
New Photography II
ALAN Gallery, Istanbul (TR)
05/01/2017 - 05/02/2017
2025
Artist-in-residence, AGA LAB, Amsterdam (NL)
2023
Art Grant, Mondriaan Fund (NL)
Nominee, DZ Bank Kunststiftung Scholarship (DE)
2022 & 2020
Nominee, Gabriele Basilico Prize in Architecture Photography (IT)
2021
Shortlisted,
Grand Prix Images Vevey (CH)
Nominee,
ING Talent Award (NL)
2020, 2019 & 2018
Nominee,
FOAM Paul Huf Award (NL)
2020
Shortlisted, Berlin C/O Foundation Award 2020 (DE)
2019
Artist-in-residence, NARS, Brooklyn, NY (USA)
2018
Nominee, Paris Photo - Aperture Foundation, First Photo Book Award (USA/FR)
Artist-in-Residence at ISCP Brooklyn, New York (USA)
Nominee, FOAM Paul Huf Award (NL)
2017
Winner, Edward Steichen Award 2017 (LU)
Stroom, Den Haag, Artistic Grant (NL)
Mondriaan Fund, Artist Grant (NL)
2016
Artist-in-Residence at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (DE)
Young Art Fund Amsterdam (NL)
2015
Winner, Startpoint Prize, National Gallery, Prague (CZ)
Winner, Steenbergen Stipend, Dutch Photo Museum, Rotterdam (NL)
Winner, Le Prix Tribew, Circulation(s), Tribew Publishing, Paris (FR)
Winner, Best of Graduates Photo Talent 2015, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam (NL)
'False Positives' - Shortlisted Unseen Dummy Award, Unseen (NL)
Winner, Photography Department Award, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (NL)