About Leo Erken

NL12
Nieuwe Leliestraat 12 sous
1015 SP Amsterdam

Leo Erken – From Photojournalism to Expanded Narratives

My career began in the late 1980s as a photojournalist, documenting social upheaval in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Back then, my tools were a camera and a notebook; my subjects were people caught in moments of struggle and survival.

Awards like the Zilveren Camera (1995 for Chechnya coverage) and being named Dutch Photojournalist of the Year (1993) were recognitions of that work, but what stayed with me wasn’t the accolades. It was the realisation that storytelling is never static.

When I directed Eva Besnyö – The Choice Collection (2003), a documentary about the Hungarian-Dutch photographer’s life under fascism and exile, I realized something: film doesn’t just show history; it reanimates it. Eva’s story, about art, survival, and political oppression kept finding new relevance.

If there’s one constant in my work over the past four decades, it’s this: I’ve always been drawn to the tension between what changes rapidly and what endures stubbornly. Technologies evolve, political systems rise and fall, artistic mediums transform, but human resilience, collective memory, and the struggle for dignity remain.

Around 2016, Frieda Gustavs and I began experimenting with VR. The question was simple: How can technology create empathy rather than distance? Our first project, Frieda en het Ongedierte, was a children’s VR film, playful, but with an underlying theme of facing fears. Then came Walzer (2022), premiering at the BFI London Film Festival, and now we’re working on The March with a much larger team. These works are about placing the viewer inside a story, letting them feel its rhythm, its tension, it’s about real social issues.

The throughline in my work isn’t a specific medium, it’s curiosity about how people navigate conflict, hope, and change.

At art academies, I tell students: ‘Your tools will keep changing, but your questions shouldn’t.’ My role isn’t to train them for an industry (that’s a moving target anyway) but to help them develop a sustainable practice.

My early work in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union taught me how much context matters. Now, collaborating with artists from different backgrounds ensures me that we make sure we don’t universalize experiences. It’s all about listening, observing and sharing.

Leo Erken (Bemmel, 1964) is a visual artist working with XR, installation and (collecting) photography. A former photojournalist and filmmaker, he teaches at St Joost School of Art & Design in Breda.
2025 and 2024: (with Frieda Gustavs and nl12|lab team) Pilot version of VR The March at IFFR CineMart and Darkroom Rotterdam.
2024: VR Walzer at De Melkweg, In|Edit Festival, Amsterdam.
2023: VR The March receives funding from Immerce\Interact, Filmfonds NL and Stimuleringsfonds NL.
2023: VR Walzer at Eye Amsterdam, MAIIM Genoa Italy, AniFilm Czech Republic, Schiedam Library.
2022: (with Frieda Gustavs), world premiere of VR “Walzer”, BFI London Film Festival XR/Expanded.
2016: (with Frieda Gustavs), Frieda en het Ongedierte VR film for children. Museum Hilversum, Fotodok Utrecht.
2010: Sound engineer in Japan for Water Children by Aliona van der Horst.
2007-present: Teacher at art academies: KABK, Fontys, Artez and currently St Joost.
2005: Directed documentary Tulpengoud, funded by Stimuleringsfonds Nederlandse Culturele Omroepproducties and regional broadcasters.
2006: Book Tulpengoud with Marie Louise Schipper. Exhibition at Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem combining photography/film with 17th-century paintings from the museum collection.
2003: Directed documentary Eva Besnyö – The Choice Collection for Het Uur van de Wolf (NPS television). Curated (with Tineke de Ruiter) accompanying exhibition at Foam Photography Museum Amsterdam. Screenings: Eye Filmmuseum, Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam, Berlinische Galerie Berlin 2012, Jeu de Paume Paris 2013, Käthe Kollwitz Museum Cologne 2018, Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum Bremen 2019, Kassák Museum Budapest 2020.
2013: Photo book Улица-Street-Straße, Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union 1987-2003, Weiw publishing house Amsterdam/Stralsund. International launch at Leipzig Book Fair, Dutch presentation at Foam Amsterdam, Russian presentation at Lumière Centre Moscow.
1989-2003: Worked as photojournalist in Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union, Asia, US and Middle East. Published in: Libération, Die Zeit, Time Magazine, The Independent, de Volkskrant, Vrij Nederland, Trouw, Het Parool etc.
1995: Winner Zilveren Camera for photo series about Chechen war.
1993: Named Dutch Photojournalist of the Year by Stichting de Zilveren Camera.

This site is made by Leonie Hoever based on the ‘Smart Mag’ theme

All pictures by Leo Erken (or stated otherwise). Leo is represented by Laif in Germany and Panos in the UK.

Please note that all copyrights on this site belong to the authors, photographers and designers. This website and its content are protected by international laws on copyright. Anyone who wants to copy or publish the photos, the text or the design needs the permission of the copyright holders. Using our material on the Internet is also a form of publication. If you have questions about copyright please contact us.