Half a Century of Music: Fotografiska Tallinn Opens Anton Corbijn’s Major Retrospective

This winter, Fotografiska Tallinn turns its focus to music with a major retrospective by legendary photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn. Corbijn’s unmistakable visual language has profoundly shaped contemporary music culture. Spanning five decades of creative work, the exhibition brings together iconic portraits of artists such as Depeche Mode, U2, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and many others – celebrating Corbijn’s undeniable legacy and lasting imprint on global pop culture.

As January draws to a close, Fotografiska enters a music-led season that will continue for months. From Saturday, 24 January, the museum presents a major retrospective of works by Dutch-born artist Anton Corbijn, whose vision has shaped the visual language of international music culture for over half a century. Alongside the exhibition, an extensive public programme will connect the show with the local music and cultural scene through special tours, film screenings, talks, and live concerts.

The large-scale retrospective Corbijn, Anton travels through five creative decades and also marks Corbijn’s 70th birthday. His distinctive visual style has captured an extraordinary range of influential musicians – timeless portraits, album covers, and band imagery that have shaped how artists and music are seen worldwide. In addition to photography, Corbijn has worked extensively with music videos and feature films, expanding his visual language into moving image and narrative.

Featuring more than 150 works, the retrospective reveals an authentic and atmospheric Corbijn universe – dark, intimate, and unmistakably his own. The exhibition includes portraits of music legends such as Bono, Nirvana, Coldplay, Nick Cave, Prince, Annie Lennox, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Lenny Kravitz and Slash, among many others. The selection also includes iconic figures from film – like Clint Eastwood, Cameron Diaz and Willem Dafoe – as well as recognisable names from fashion, politics, and contemporary culture such as Kate Moss, Nelson Mandela and Ai Weiwei.

In addition to photography, the exhibition features a large immersive music room offering a powerful 360-degree experience of Corbijn’s videography – music videos that have shaped and inspired generations.

The exhibition has been curated by Fotografiska in close collaboration with Anton Corbijn. “This thematically structured retrospective offers an excellent overview of Corbijn’s artistic evolution,” says Fotografiska Tallinn’s Head of Exhibitions Maarja Loorents. “Rather than following a strict chronology, the exhibition brings together works created over the past 50 years – many of them personal favourites of the artist himself.” Loorents highlights Corbijn’s rare ability to remain true to his vision and visual language over such a long period, despite shifting trends. “This uncompromising consistency gives his photographs a timeless, time-defying quality,” she adds.

To mark the opening, Corbijn himself will be in Tallinn, appearing at the exhibition opening event on Friday, 23 January, and at a live recording of the Muusikanõunikud podcast on Saturday, 24 January. The opening week will also welcome Latvian band Brainstorm, whose long-standing collaboration with Corbijn is reflected in a portrait specially included in the Fotografiska Tallinn exhibition. Brainstorm will also appear at a live recording of the Fotografiska podcast on Thursday, 22 January, in conversation with Ingrid Kohtla, Head of Communications for Tallinn Music Week and Station Narva.

The exhibition is accompanied by a public programme that places Corbijn’s work in dialogue with local artists, musicians, and cultural figures. “The breadth and diversity of Corbijn’s work allow us to explore the dialogue between music and image from many angles,” says Fotografiska Tallinn’s Executive Director Margit Aasmäe. Over the course of three months, the exhibition is accompanied by the Corbijn Sessions public programme, bringing together photography, film, talks, and special concerts. Additional events will take place as part of the major spring music festivals Tallinn Music Week and Jazzkaar.

Corbijn, Anton is on view at Fotografiska Tallinn from 24 January to 30 April 2026.