Casting Statists for Facets of the City after August Sander
Your Face Counts
Be part of an artwork that captures the 21st century.
Siegen. Siegener fine art photographer Thomas Kellner, whose work has been exhibited internationally—including in New York and Australia—is looking for people who want to be part of his extraordinary photographic project: Facets of the City – After August Sander.
Kellner photographs a total of 1,056 individuals by summer 2026—representing roughly one percent of Siegen’s population. The goal is to create a unique cross-section of contemporary society. All portraits will be shown together in a series of exhibitions.
The project is based on Siegen’s population statistics. To ensure it is truly representative, everyone is invited to take part.
Over 600 portraits have already been taken—now the final 400 are needed!
Wanted: You and Your Story.
Kellner is looking for people of all ages and backgrounds—from schoolchildren to seniors, from caregivers and artists to craftsmen and students. Every person counts. Every person tells a story. The portraits are usually taken at your workplace or at a location that reflects something about you—whether that’s your office, workshop, garden, or rehearsal room. Thomas Kellner photographs you in your own world.
Props are welcome, as are friends, partners, or anyone you'd like to include in the portrait.
You decide how you want to be portrayed—classic, creative, or spontaneous. The artist will work with your ideas and is happy to come to your location.
How to Participate – Free of Charge!
If you're curious and want to book a portrait session, stop by on
Friday, May 24, at BALTWERK in Siegen (Sandstraße 1, 57072 Siegen).
Thomas Kellner will be there in person to talk and answer questions.
Participation is free of charge. A portrait session takes about 30 to 45 minutes. All portraits are taken professionally and will later become part of a public exhibition.
If you can’t make it that day, you can also contact Thomas Kellner directly to arrange a personal appointment.
Contact & Registration: tk@thomaskellner.com
What’s in it for You?
You’ll be part of an artistically and historically significant project that depicts the people of our city—authentic, diverse, and unfiltered.
Your portrait will not stand alone—it will become part of a visual micro-census of Siegen in the 21st century. It’s a snapshot of who we are today, a legacy for future generations.
A Photographic Portrait of Urban Society
Since 2020, photographer Thomas Kellner has been working on a trilogy about his home region—the city of Siegen and the Siegerland area. Across three photographic series, he explores regional themes: iconic buildings and the people who live here.
The project began with a series on half-timbered houses, in the tradition of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Bernd Becher himself was from Siegen, giving Kellner reason to explore this architectural heritage from a modern perspective. This series has been shown in New York, Düsseldorf, and Cologne, among others.
In the second part of the trilogy, Kellner turned his lens to chapel schools—small, historical buildings that served as both school and church. This is an architectural form that the Bechers never documented.
With the current series, Facets of the City, Kellner shifts his focus to people—drawing on the legacy of a major inspiration: August Sander. The renowned photographer, born in nearby Herdorf, created portraits of German society around the 1920s. Kellner picks up this thread with a project that portrays today’s urban society in all its diversity. The idea: not to spotlight celebrities or "special" individuals, but to create a broad cross-section of the population—from chimney sweeps to retirees, from sales assistants to CEOs. Clothing, posture, expression, and setting all offer insights into lifestyle, profession, and personality—and make social differences visible.
For the first major exhibition of Facets of the City, Kellner photographed 376 people by summer 2024, from which he selected 60 portraits. These were on display from April 26 to June 15, 2024, at the Art Galerie Siegen. More exhibitions are being prepared, including a presentation at the National Museum of Art of Moldova later this year. In the long term, Kellner plans to complete all 1,056 portraits.
Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, a lavishly designed catalogue is also in production, set for release in October 2025. It will feature 60 portraits across roughly 240 pages, along with personal stories and scholarly essays that place the project in an art-historical context.
Facets of the City shows who we are—as a society, a community, a city.
These photographs invite reflection on identity, belonging, and diversity. They reveal how differently people live, think, and present themselves—and bring this variety together in a powerful, clear visual language.
Casting Statists at Blattwerk
Thomas Kellner will be casting at Blattwerk Sandtraße
May 24, 2025
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
