Unfortunately, it is with a heavy heart that we must bring the Fotobus House project to a close on August 31, 2026.
In February 2026, an anonymous letter was sent to our main sponsor, Nikon, with the aim of discrediting the Fotobus project. Apparently, the letter criticized the fact that Christoph Bangert is the owner of the Fotobus House and that students live there. Subsequently, an individual anonymously contacted the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung with the same allegations, and the newspaper published five articles about the Fotobus House.
From the very beginning, we have been transparent with our association members and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover regarding the ownership structure of the Fotobus House.
Since the nonprofit Fotobus Association was unfortunately unable to purchase the house in Rössing, Chiho and Christoph Bangert bought the house in April 2025. Part of the purchase price came from Chiho’s inheritance in Japan, and the rest was financed through a bank loan. Chiho and Christoph intended to make the house, including the barn, permanently available to the nonprofit Fotobus Association. They derived no financial benefit from the project—quite the opposite.
Following the conclusion of a legal clarification process, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover imposed, among other things, a ban on Christoph conducting exams and threatened serious consequences. The pressure from the university became so great that we now have to end the house project in Rössing. All students will leave the house by the end of August 2026. Here are three short articles from Photonews and Profifoto. (in German)
On Friday, July 24, 2026, at 8:00 p.m., a one-hour Deutschlandfunk program about the creation of the Fotobus House will air. (in German)
Journalist Anna Seibt followed the project for a year as part of a long-term documentary. Anna Seibt had previously produced a short segment on the Fotobus project for the Deutschlandfunk program “Campus & Karriere” (in German)
Between April 2025 and August 2026, we attempted to establish an old half-timbered house and barn in Rössing, south of Hanover, as a base for the Fotobus Association and as a communal living project. The so-called Fotobus House was a self-managed, solidarity-based community where photographers lived and worked collectively.
A total of six student Fotobus members lived in the house. The students paid a monthly fee of 275 euros per person to cover part of the house’s operating costs. Together, we created a wonderful space for photography. Gradually, the barn was to be transformed into a cultural venue for photo exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, live music, lectures, and more.
