Björn Steinz

Master of Arts (MA) · Freelance documentary photographer and lecturer

Prague, Czech Republic / Germany

steinz@oka2.com | bjoern.steinz@oka2.com

Representation

Panos Pictures, London — panos.co.uk

Freelance Photographic Work

1994 – present · Freelance documentary, reportage and portrait photographer. Represented by Panos

Pictures, London. Clients include: National Geographic, Open Society Foundations, Die Zeit, Der

Spiegel, Der Stern, The Guardian, FAZ, Süddeutsche Zeitung, NZZ, Financial Times, dpa, Geo Special,

Du, Newsweek Japan, Radio Free Liberty, and others.

Long-term Projects

2022 – present · Silent Landscapes (Stille Landschaften) - Documentary series on the Sudeten

Germans, displacement, memory and identity along the Czech-German border

1992 – 2017 · Finding Elvis — 25-year documentation of Bosnian refugee Elvis Causevic and the

consequences of the Yugoslav War

2013 – 2017 · A Wall Runs Through It — Long-term documentary on Roma communities in Slovakia,

Czech Republic, and across Europe

2009 – 2011 · A Beautiful Strange Dream — Book and exhibition project about South Korea; regular

assignments for the Czech Embassy in Seoul

2010 · Journey to the Pole of Cold — Expedition from South Korea to Oymyakon, Yakutia, Russia

(coldest inhabited village on earth)

2007 – 2008 · Frost — Documentary project with Olympus Europe; Moscow, Novosibirsk, Yakutsk

Grants & Scholarships

2022 · VG Bild-Kunst, Germany — Silent Landscapes (Stille Landschaften), Sudeten German

history

2021 · VG Bild-Kunst research grant — Sudety | Sudetenland; Nomination, European Press Prize

(group project Sisters of Europe)

2013 / 2017 · VG Bild-Kunst, Germany — A Wall Runs Through It, Roma communities in Europe

2012 · Czech Radio Foundation — Music in Images, collaboration with Mario Bihari

Awards & Recognition

2025 · Finalist, Czech-German Journalism Award — Multimedia project Silent Landscapes

2024 · 3rd Place, Czech Press Photo - Category portrait

2021 · Nominated, European Press Prize — group project Sisters of Europe

Selected Exhibitions

2025 · The Eye in Art — Museum Kampa, Prague

2024 · Reunion Gallery, Prague - Zizkov 1994-1996

2018 · A Beautiful Strange Dream — Reunion Gallery, Prague

2017 · Kmeny 90 (Tribes 90), curated by Vladimir 518 — Moravian Gallery, Brno

2014 · Korea Through Six Lenses — Czech Center, Prague

         · Obrazky Duse / Images of the Soul, Mario Bihari & Björn Steinz, Prague

         · Tak to zacalo (about the Ukrainian Crisis), Prague / Uherské Hradište

2013 · Ulsan International Environmental Photo Festival — Main Exhibition, South Korea

         · A Beautiful Strange Dream, Praha

2012 · The Society of Korean Photography — Yanbian University, China

2011 · Culture of Asia — Korean Foundation Gallery, Seoul

         · A Beautiful Strange Dream — Zaha Museum, Seoul

         · Journey to the Pole of Cold — Seoul Art Fair

2009 – 2010 · The Faces of Asia — Group exhibition, Japan, China, South Korea

2008 · Frost (Yakutia) — Prague

2004 – 2006 · Images from the Soul / Music in Images, with Mario Bihari — Touring exhibition, Czech

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Zagreb, Seoul, Los Angeles, Oslo, Hanoi, Wroclaw and more

2003 · Paranoia (Camera Obscura slide installation), with writer Markus Töpper — Frankfurt am Main

1999 · MA Graduate Exhibition — Prague National Gallery (Veletržní Palác)

         · Slide projection — 5th International Photo Days, Herten, Germany

1998 · Svet pod lupou, Olomouc; Fire (slide installation), Künstlerhaus Ulm; Umelecka Beseda, Brno;

           Žižkov, Moravská Galerie, Brno

Books & Collaborations

2025 · Mario Bihari — Illustrated book about the life and work of Mario Bihari, blind Roma musician and

           photographer, longtime friend and collaborator since the 1990s

Selected Publications

The Guardian · Le Point · National Geographic · Der Spiegel · Der Stern · Die Zeit · Du · Geo Special ·

FAZ · Süddeutsche Zeitung · NZZ · Financial Times · Open Society Foundations · Radio Free Liberty ·

Panos Pictures · dpa

Teaching Experience

2012 – present · Lecturer, Anglo-American University in Prague — Documentary Photography, Visual

                            Culture, Photojournalism, Video Storytelling, Intro to Digital Photography

2013 – 2016 · Lecturer for Documentary Photography, Academy of Performing Arts Prague (FAMU)

2011 – 2012 · Workshop instructor, School for Art and Design (TAIK), Aalto University, Helsinki

2009 – 2011 · Assistant Professor of Photography, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea

2008 – 2009 · Lecturer, Bauhaus University Weimar; Technical University Ilmenau; Mentor, Fotopub Festival,

                       Novo Mesto, Slovenia

2001 – 2002 · Assistant, Symposium for Documentary Photography, Bad Herrenalb, Germany

1999 – 2000 · Assistant, Academy of Performing Arts Prague (FAMU)

                       Selected workshops: BTK Hochschule für Gestaltung, Berlin; Aalto University, Helsinki; Bauhaus

                       University, Weimar; Doha, Qatar (Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy)

Education

1994 – 1999 · Academy of Performing Arts, Prague (FAMU) — Department of Photography · Master of

Arts (MA)

1990 · High school degree, Gymnasium Oberursel, Germany