Esther Hovers






Esther Hovers
Biography






In her artistic practice, visual artist Esther Hovers investigates how power, politics and control are exercised through urban planning and the use of public space. She was trained as a photographer but creates installations in which photographs, drawings, text and film play an equal part.
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.





Publications

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.
Selected Exhibitions

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
Awards & Grants

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)