Adam Broomberg is a contemporary artist and activist born in South Africa and currently based in Berlin, whose identity is profoundly shaped by his South African Jewish heritage. As the descendant of Holocaust survivors, he grew up under the shadow of the South African apartheid regime. This unique duality of memory—familial persecution intertwined with witnessed state violence—forms the bedrock of his political awakening.
In the professional realm, Broomberg gained international renown as one half of the celebrated artistic duo “Broomberg & Chanarin.” His work radicalized the boundaries of traditional documentary photography, earning top honors such as the 2013 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize and the Arles Discovery Award through a critical examination of conflict, power, and the mechanics of imagery. He has served as a professor at prestigious institutions like HFBK Hamburg, and his work is held in permanent collections at the Tate and MoMA. The hallmark of his career is the successful transformation of art into a tool for “decolonization,” exposing how images can be weaponized as instruments of control and surveillance.
This reflection on the power of imagery naturally extended into his political activism, positioning him as one of the most influential artistic voices in the international pro-Palestine movement. He is an active member of Artists for Palestine UK and a steadfast supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Even within the highly complex political climate of Germany, he has refused to back down in the face of accusations of “antisemitism” or threats of professional marginalization, instead helping to launch the “Strike Germany” campaign to protest the censorship of pro-Palestinian voices by German institutions. In May 2023, Broomberg was arrested by German police at a Jewish-led Nakba commemoration in Berlin.
He utilizes his social media platform to document and dismantle false narratives in real-time while frequently traveling to the West Bank to participate in grassroots resistance, placing both his body and his lens on the frontlines.
He bluntly stated Israel’s attempt to whitewash its image: “Since the beginning of the full-scale genocide in Gaza, which has galvanized resistance worldwide, the Israeli pavilion of the Venice Biennale has been mobilizing to art-wash the nation’s brand.” Regarding the weaponization of antisemitism he encountered in Germany, he said: “For a commissioner of antisemitism, for his first and most vehement and powerful attack to be on a Jew and to put a Jew’s life and profession at risk, is totally ironic.”