People
Sanderien Verstappen
directs the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab. She is assistant professor in anthropology with tenure track focusing on visual anthropology at the University of Vienna. She teaches specialized courses in visual and multimodal ethnography as well as general anthropology courses in Bachelor and Master programmes. For more information, see her website: www.sanderienverstappen.com
Paul Katterl
coordinates the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab and is responsible for the daily management of the Lab and the communication with students and staff. As a student assistant with previous training in graphic design, he is interested in museums, placemaking, consumption, and the potentials of visual and multimodal methods in anthropological research and knowledge production at large.
Suzana Jovicic
collaborates with the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab in the context of the interdisciplinary project We:Design ( we-design.at ) which aims to involve youths in participatory visual practices and digital design processes. She is specialised in digital, design and psychological anthropology as well as collaborative and interdisciplinary research and teaches at the University of Vienna.
Christoph Fink
is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab. In his research, Christoph asks how urban activists choose which roles to perform in media and in public, and whether some roles give them an advantage in gaining impact on the political discourse offline and online. He draws on visual anthropology methods in analysis, in theory-building, and in public outreach. christophfink.com
Helen Vaaks
collaborates with the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab as part of the project "Women on the Move", about cycling advocacy among women. She is an audio-visual anthropologist with focus on human-environment interactions, community involvement, migration, and education.
Elaine Goldberg
collaborates with the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab as part of the project "Sorgeräume" about caring communities in Austria. She is a researcher and ethnographic filmmaker with a focus on audio-visual explorations of epistemic practices and spaces.
Katharina Gartner
collaborates with the VVAL in the context of teaching cultural anthropology, anthropology of sound, and podcasting. Katharina is an interdisciplinary reseacher and lecturer on expressive cultures, with a special interest in music, youth and urban Africa. Her academic work is inspired by her practical experience as a counselor for youths and their families, and as a performing musician.
Former associates
Viktoria Paar
coordinated the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab from 2020 to 2024. She was responsible for the daily management of the Lab and the communication with the students. Viktoria is a Visual Anthropologist with interest in Sensory Ethnography, ritual, affect, and atmosphere research. She is a video producer for many local civil society projects in Vienna. www.fortunaproductions.at
Werner Zips
was a.o. university professor of anthropology and a filmmaker at the University of Vienna. He taught courses in anthropology of law, environmental anthropology, and Caribbean and African studies, and stimulated generations of anthropology students to learn about filmmaking. Since 1993 he has made more than 50 films, many of which have been screened at prime time on the Austrian public television channel ORF.