About
Julia Runge is a esteemed documentary photographer and filmmaker with over 15 years of experience working across Germany and Southern Africa. Her work is defined by an empathetic and ethical approach, capturing intimate stories that explore social structures, identity, and cultural realities—particularly within Namibia.
She graduated in 2015 from the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin, where she gained recognition for her acclaimed project Basterland. This body of work later evolved into a powerful documentary film, which she co-produced in 2022 in collaboration with arte/ZDF. Her photography focuses primarily on portraiture, using a distinctive visual language to address themes of social engagement, cultural identity, and the diverse realities of life on the African continent. Her work has received numerous awards, been featured in leading national and international publications, and exhibited in countries such as France, Uganda, Nigeria, China, the United States, and Switzerland.
In 2023, Julia took on the role of Director at the Windhoek-based media production company Obsessive Media and simultaneously founded Reframe Kollektiv e.V. in Berlin—an organization dedicated to fostering photography, journalism, and media in Southern Africa through collaboration and cultural dialogue.
Julia’s work often highlights underrepresented voices and marginalized communities. Her recent focus includes topics such as gender-based violence, queer identities, and the politics of visibility. Through portraiture and long-term storytelling, she sheds light on issues of injustice, resilience, and societal transformation—always with a strong commitment to ethical representation and dialogue.
EXHIBITIONS & ARTISTIC INVOLVEMENT
2024 Co-Producer of the transcontinental project Drag Beyond Borders (Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Germany)
2023 Director of media production company OBSESSIVE MEDIA CC, Windhoek, Namibia
2023 Founding REFRAME KOLLEKTIV e.V. (Founder and current chairwoman of the association)
2023 Curator of the group exhibition „Home of Mine“ , Fotogalerie Friedrichshain, Berlin
2023 Direction of the photography workshop „Reframe-Immersion“, Berlin
2023 Photos and collaboration for arte/ZDF on the documentary film „Namibia – The Rough World of the Basters“, NAM/DE
2022 Direction of the photography workshop „Reframe“ , NAM
2022 Guest lecturer at Collage of the Arts Windhoek, NAM
2022 Shebeen Queens at Café Prestige, Windhoek, NAM
2021 Shebeen Queens at die Muschel, Swakopmund, NAM
2021 Award Winning African Photography – photo basel Takes a Closer Look
2020 Shebeen Queens at Trieste Photo Days -> exhibition at the “Sartorio” Museum Trieste, ITA
2020 Shebeen Queens at Château de LaLande seeingWOMAN Award 2020, FRA
2020 Shebeen Queens at Ilham Gallery (KLPA 2020 Award exhibition), Kuala Lumpur
2020 Shebeen Queens at Fotogalerie Friedrichshain, Berlin, DE
2020 Shebeen Queens at International Portrait/Fashion Exhibition in Orlando, FL
2020 Solo Exhibition „Shebeen Queens“ at R. – Raum für drastische Maßnahmen, Berlin, DE
2019 Solo Exhibition „Basterland“ at Fotogalerie Friedrichshain, Berlin, DE
2018 Basterland at Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie , Quedlinburg, DE
2017 Solo Exhibition at Jammin Galerie, Berlin, DE
2016 Basterland at Photokina, Köln, DE
2016 Basterland at Uganda Press Photo Award, Kampala, Uganda
2016 Basterland at LagosPhoto Festival, Lagos, Nigeria
2016 Basterland at Tan Gallery, 798 Art District Beijing, China
2016 Lead a Photography Workshop for Goethe Institut in Beijing, China
2016 Basterland at Heuberg 24 – Raum für Kunst, Basel, CH
2016 Basterland at Image Afrique in Basel, CH
2016 Basterland at the 21th Voies Off Festival, Arles, FRA
2016 Basterland at Photobastei Zürich, Zurich, CH
2016 Basterland at the Panacée – Centre for Contemporary Art, Montpellier, FRA
2016 Basterland & POPCAP ’16 at Nuit des Images, Lausanne, CH
2016 Hellerau Portraits, Basterland, Dresden Hellerau, DE
2015 OHO Abschlussaustellung Ostkreuzschule, Basterland, HO Berlin, DE
2015 Art @ SAP, Growing Hope, SAP Walldorf, DE
2014 Entrepreneur 4.0 Award, Growing Hope, Igersheim, DE
AWARDS AND GRANTS:
2025 Project funding by Capital Pride Alliance, Projekt „Drag Beyond Borders“
2023 Project funding by Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery, Projekt „Reframe – Immersion“
2022 Project funding by Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery, Reframe Photography Workshop
2021 INITIAL Special Grant by the Akademie der Künste
2021 Project funding by Stiftung Kulturwerk der VG Bild-Kunst & Deutsch-Namibische Gesellschaft e.v. , What the Storm Has Left
2021 Digital Residency with pacificoritualyresistencia, Columbia/Berlin
2020 Bronze Medal German Photo Book Award (Category: Documentary-Journalistic Photo Book), Shebeen Queens
2020 Honorable Mention (Category People) Neutral Density Photography Award 2021, Shebeen Queens
2020 Honorable Mention (Category Analog / Film : Portrait) IPA 2020, Shebeen Queens
2020 Winning Project of the „Sartorio“ Museum Trieste prize-exhibition, Shebeen Queens
2020 Finalist Urban Photo Awards 2020, Shebeen Queens
2020 Projekt Grant Finalist Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards 2020 (Portrait Prize) , Shebeen Queens
2020 Honorable Mention (Category Equality – Egalité) seeingWOMAN Award 2020 (Photos de Femmes), Shebeen Queens
2020 Honorable Mention (Category Portrait Series) Annual Photography Awards 2019, Shebeen Queens
2019 Scholarship Robert Bosch Foundation / Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Shebeen Queens
2016 Prizewinner Deutscher Jugendfotopreis 2016, Category D, Basterland
2016 Winner POPCAP ’16, the piclet.org Prize for Contemporary African Photography, Basterland
2016 4th Place PhotoVisions Förderpreis, Basterland
2015 Nominee Category Photojournalism – Fine Art Photography Award, Basterland
2014 Winner Audience Prize Entrepreneur 4.0 Photography Award 2014, Growing Hope
2014 2nd Place Entrepreneur 4.0 Photography Award – Category „Young Talents“, Growing Hope
APPEARANCES:
Neues Deutschland – nd der Tag
Kwerfeldein about „Shebeen Queens“
Interview for Africa in the Photobook
ZITTY Berlin
Welt der Frauen (Österreich)
Stern Magazin
Der Spiegel
Neues Deutschland – Tageszeitung
Namibia Magazine
Lust auf Gut (Republic of Culture) Magazin
Fotopraxis mit Perspektive, Fotofeinkost Verlag, 2014
„Nachdruck“ Magazin
PHOTOGRAPHIE Magazine
Chaeg South Korean Magazine
Pagina 99 Italien