When images become encounters
What was planned as a photographic project a few years ago has become something bigger over the years: “Experience mountain farmers” is not a classic documentary. It is an approximation. A dialogue. An honest look behind the scenes.
The originally planned 16 days became more than 90 production days, during which photographer and filmmaker Klaus-Maria Einwanger and his team accompanied mountain farming families. Not staged, not planned, but unplugged and unposed in everyday life. Early in the morning. Late in the evening. In summer, in winter, whenever important work and everyday situations of mountain farmers were on the work schedule and could therefore be photographed and filmed in real time and completely authentically without staging.
From the moment, undisguised, genuine.
The photos and films do not show an idealized mountain farming world. They show work. Responsibility. Doubt. Awareness of generational consequences. “We present facts, everything is from real life,” explains Klaus Schreyer, one of the portrayed mountain farmers. That is precisely the power of this project: It makes people visible who are otherwise only perceived as part of a landscape or postcard motif.
A special exhibition in an exhibition at the Deutsches Museum Munich
With the exhibition at the Deutsches Museum, the project has now reached the center of society. An exhibition within an exhibition — deliberately chosen to shift perspectives. City meets countryside. Consumption meets origin. Knowledge meets awareness. Around 250 invited guests came to the exhibition opening on Museum Island to take part in the round table and subsequent opening of the special exhibition on the third floor of the museum and to get a first impression of the life and everyday life of mountain farmers.
Why this project is important
Mountain farmers have secured a unique cultural landscape for centuries. And at the same time, they are facing enormous challenges today:
▪ Bureaucracy
▪ Climate Change
▪ economic pressure
The exhibition makes these areas of tension visible — without judging, but with close proximity. “Experience mountain farmers” is available as an exhibition at the Deutsches Museum, plus seasonal films and documentaries on a website and as a high-quality book. The works of photographer and filmmaker Klaus-Maria Einwanger see themselves as an impulse — for more understanding, more awareness and for conscious decisions about more regionality when making the next purchase.
The exhibition “Experience Mountain Farmers” can be seen until May 31, 2026 as part of the exhibition “Agriculture and Food” at the Deutsches Museum. It is included in the museum ticket. Opening hours: May 1 to 31, 2026, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
