atelier thal is the office and studio space of Sandra Singh and Francesco Giordano who work as visual artists and freelance photographers. In the centre of Thalkirchen in Munich, their atelier is intended as a space for creating as well as a meeting place and venue for smaller events, such as the bi-annual open atelier day in December.
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Sandra Singh (*1990) is a German Indian visual artist and photographer living and working in Munich, Germany. In her artistic practice, Singh works at the intersection of photography, printmaking, video- and media art. She focuses on projects and research on the themes of border politics, female autonomy and migrant identity. Her process is informed by scientific and journalistic research and a fusion of aesthetics from surveillance technology, fine art photography and (photo-)journalism. In her works, she focuses on the complex interplay between documentation and fiction and a playful questioning of their boundaries.
This is visualised in projects like “KASHMIR (2020)” and “ARARAT (2019)", a series of large-scale cyanotype artworks which are based on her ongoing intensive research into cartography, current border policies, the many meanings of “homeland” and their impact on human movements.
Extensive Research is the backbone of all her projects - Singhs process focuses on scientific studies as well as personal encounters, collection of statements and a fusing of emotional and journalistic approaches to politics and contemporary histories. For instance, in "a promise of land (2022)" and "MAN SPRICHT DEUTSCH (2023)" Singh uses photography as a tool of visual investigation by merging found footage, fine art photography and journalistic research, resulting in video installations as well as prints on floating silken fabric.
Her latest project “VIRTUAL WAR (on women)” is a multimedia art & research project focused on online misogyny, INCEL culture and its real-life consequences, for which she has been awarded the artist stipend by the City of Munich in 2024 and the Feminist Art Prize 2025 by IKOB Museum of Contemporary Art in Eupen, Belgium. With numerous screens hooked up to a metal construct installed in the dark, the “Toxic Technoculture Tower” utilises an immersive exhibition concept for visitors to engage with the so-called “Red Pill Culture” and question their own relations and experiences with everyday misogyny. Accompanied by a booklet and a research library, the project offers access and transparency to the artists research material and creation process.
As a member of collectives like Diversify.Photo and Women Photograph, the post-migrant, feminist perspective is at the centre of her artistic interpretation of these themes. Singh is also a member of BBK – Association of Visual Artists Munich / Upper Bavaria and will join GEDOK - Interdisciplinary Organization of Women* Artists Advisory Board as Jury Advisor in late 2025. As of 2024, she’s been part of the curatorial Team of FOTODOKS: International festival for contemporary documentary photography, with the newest edition of the festival opening in October 2025.
Francesco Giordano is a queer photographer, visual artist, and curator based in Munich. Born in 1992 in southern Germany to Italian and Spanish parents, his artistic practice centers on LGBTQIA+ issues, migration, memory culture, and questions of visibility and social justice.
Francesco’s work moves at the intersection of documentary photography and artistic research. With a background in Design Studies (B.A. in Photodesign, M.A. in Applied Design Research), accessibility, clarity, and sustainable communication are central to his approach. His projects create spaces where marginalized perspectives become visible, collective experiences can be shared, and new forms of solidarity can be explored.
He realizes interdisciplinary exhibitions and publications, including Rainbow Refugees (Stories) (2019), 377. Inside India’s Queer Community (2020), queer:raum (2022), and Mit Euren Spuren (2024). His practice is strongly community-oriented: he understands art as a tool to spark dialogue, build connections, and make political and social issues experientially accessible.
Francesco draws inspiration from the diversity of queer lived experiences, the solidarity within communities, and their collective pursuit of social progress. His work reflects how identity, history, and political action are intertwined, and how art can function as a platform for empowerment.
Francesco’s current project, Arondeus Widerstand (2025), focuses on Dutch artist and resistance fighter Willem Arondeus and explores queer forms of resistance and resilience, in the past and present. Through a combination of photography, drag performance, film, and installation, the project weaves together historical research with personal reflection and collective narratives. It asks how queer people build resilience today, which strategies of resistance emerge, and how art can contribute to an active culture of remembrance.
Website // Instagram
mail@francesco-giordano.com
Events & exhibitions
*Sandra Singh *Francesco Giordano
2026
2025
*Feminist Art Prize 2025, IKOB Museum for Contemporary Art, Eupen / Belgium
*Mit Euren Spuren - as part of the „Pride Photo Exhibition" in the Netherlands
*Mit Euren Spuren – As part of the group exhibition „Life Stories" of Breda Photo Festival in the Netherlands
*Zwischen Krieg und Hoffnung, Mahnmal St. Nikolai, Hamburg / Germany
*Exhibition of "Arondeus Widerstand" at Habibi Kiosk of Münchner Kammerspiele
*Exhibition of the project "Hide and Seek" at Habibi Kiosk of Münchner Kammerspiele
*"Look at me", GEDOK Gallery2024
*Mit Euren Spuren – As part of the group exhibition „The line between us" at Galerie Nord, Berlin
*Arondeus' Widerstand (work in progress)- queer:raum Jahresausstellung at Feierwerk Farbenladen, Munich
2024
*Queer Artists Munich Vol. 2 – queer:raum Jahresausstellung at Feierwerk Farbenladen, Munich
*MAY DAY RELAY (2024), Billboard Kunst-Insel am Lenbachplatz, Public Art Munich
*Mit Euren Spuren – group exhibition at Ander Art Festival
*AnderArt Festival, Munich
*Part of Plat(t)form 2024 - Fotomuseum Winterthur
*Failing System, Kunstverein Augsburg
*Mit Euren Spuren - group exhibition, Seidlvilla München
*UTOPIA, KulturBunt Neuperlach, München
*Queer Artists Munich Vol. 2 - Galerie des Oberbürgermeisters (2nd floor), Neues Rathaus Munich
**Man Spricht Deutsch - Intervention in the Artothek Munich
*Förderpreise 2024 der Landeshauptstadt München
2023
*Panty Paradise, Kösk, Munich
**International weeks against racism, Alte Utting, Munich
*Border//Lines, super+Centercourt, Munich
*Sacharoffs Legacy, Habibi Kiosk, Munich
*queer:raum X Galerie Einwand: Wer bin ich wo?, Münchner Stadtmuseum
*Queer Artists Munich, during QUEER THINGS, Pixel, Munich
*DENKRAUM DEUTSCHLAND 2023 - HEY ALTER!, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
*F3 Masterclass Portrait Exhibition with the project Ms Brini Olsen, Freiraum für Fotografie, Berlin
**Exhibition of the project Man Spricht Deutsch n FLORIDA of Lothringer 13, Munich
2022
**Open Studio, atelier thal, Munich
*COMMON SPACE, Altes Spital, Viechtach
*Indian Photofestival, Hyderabad, India
**I have no words, there is no title, Rathausgalerie Munich
*Italienisches Leben in München, Münchenstift
*queer:raum, AnderArt Festival, Munich
*queer:raum, Münchner Aids Hilfe e.V., Munich
*Kollnburger Kunstsonntag, Kollnburg
Imprint, 2026