Wilhelm Schürmann explores the meaning of neighborhood in new exhibition at Leopold-Hoesch-Museum

A major retrospective dedicated to German photographer Wilhelm Schürmann has opened at the Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, offering visitors an intimate look at the places, streets, and communities that have shaped the artist’s life and work over the past five decades. Titled “Wilhelm Schürmann. Neighbors,” the exhibition runs from March 1 through May 24, 2026, and brings together early photographs alongside more recent images, tracing how Schürmann’s artistic vision has evolved while remaining rooted in the everyday environments around him. Born in Dortmund in 1946, Schürmann has long been fascinated by the ordinary landscapes of daily life—streets, buildings, and the people who inhabit them. Rather than searching for dramatic subjects, he turns his camera toward the places he knows best: the neighborhoods where he has lived, walked, and observed life unfold. The exhibition highlights this personal approach by juxtaposing early work from the late 1970s and early 1980s