He co-founded the Austro Sino Art Program (2008–2014) in Beijing, China and the SewonArtSpace in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He founded the Myanmar Photo Archive, Myanmar’s first public photography archive and set up an accompanying publishing program.[7] His publishing company Fraglich Publishing focuses on visual culture publications and limited edition prints.
Birk’s first major body of work Kafkanistan – tourism to conflict areas (2005–2008), with Irish ethnographer Sean Foley, explores the activities of tourists in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas. The research resulted in a feature film, exhibition and book.[12]
Alongside Austrian artists and professor Karel Dudesek, Birk co-founded the Austro Sino Arts Program (ASAP). ASAP operated out of Beijing between 2008 and 2014, organizing exhibitions, film festivals and publications. The program showcased the work of non-Chinese artists who worked in China and produced artists’ perspectives on China. The project received major support from the Austrian Arts Council.[13][14][15][16]
During his years in China, Birk founded a commercial photography studio, taught photography and exhibited his artworks widely. He also produced a series and monograph titled Polaroids from the Middle Kingdom.[17][18][19]
SewonArtSpace
In 2011, Karel Dudesek and Birk founded SewonArtSpace[20] in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. SewonArtSpace is a non-profit art space and residency program hosting primarily Austrian artists and connecting them to the local art scene in Yogyakarta, one of South East Asia’s most thriving art cities. The project received funding from the Austrian Chancellery office.[21][22]
Afghan Box Camera project
In 2011, Birk returned with his colleague Sean Foley to Afghanistan to investigate the last remaining Box Camera photographers working on the streets of Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan. They conducted research trips between 2011 and 2014 resulting in an online archive,[23] the book Afghan Box Camera (Dewi Lewis, UK, 2013)[24] and the book Photo Peshawar (Mapin, India, 2017).[25][26] Birk and Foley coined the terms Afghan Box Camera and Kamra-e-Faoree,[27] two descriptions for Box Camera photography.[28] This was primarily through the widespread media coverage,[29][30] open-source films and ‘how to build an Afghan Box Camera’ manual[31] published on social media and on their own platform.[32][33]
Myanmar photo archive
Birk started collecting photographic material and conducting research on photographic history in Myanmar in 2013.[34] Since then, he has founded the first public photographic archive focusing on local Myanmar Visual History, the Myanmar Photo Archive (MPA).[35] MPA is organizing exhibitions[7][36] with the materials in the archive – currently comprising 20,000 images – and has started a photo book publishing program in Yangon.[37][38] The books are published in English and Burmese and distributed internationally.[39] The archive has received major funding from the British Library,[40] the Goethe Institute Myanmar[41] and the European Union in Myanmar.[42]
Publications and monographs
Kafkanistan – tourism to conflict zones Lukas Birk and Sean Foley. Fraglich Publishing, Austria /Glitterati Inc., USA, 2008/2012. ISBN978-0985169626
Afghan Box Camera Lukas Birk and Sean Foley. Dewi Lewis Publishing, United Kingdom, 2013. ISBN978-1907893360
Polaroids from the Middle Kingdom Lukas Birk. Glitterati Inc., USA, 2014. ISBN978-0988174566
35 Bilder Krieg Lukas Birk. Fraglich Publishing, Austria, 2015. ISBN978-3-9502773-7-1
Photo Peshawar Sean Foley and Lukas Birk. Maping/Pix Publishing, India, 2015. ISBN978-9385360466
