Opening Party: Lauren Greenfield – Social Studies
Welcome by Lauren Greenfield and party hosted by Close Friends
Join us at Fotografiska Berlin to celebrate the opening of Lauren Greenfield’s Social Studies – an exploration of what it means to grow up with social media.
Meet the artist in person at the welcome reception and explore Social Studies alongside all other exhibitions currently on view at Fotografiska.
Afterwards, we keep the night going with a party in our Café Bar, hosted by Close Friends, a Berlin-based creative collective and platform bringing people together through music, culture and community.
About the artist
Lauren Greenfield studied visual anthropology at Harvard University and has spent three decades documenting American consumer culture, youth, and gender through photography, documentary film, and advertising. The New York Times has called her “America’s foremost visual chronicler of the plutocracy.”
Her six feature documentaries include THIN (2006, HBO), The Queen of Versailles (Sundance Directing Award, U.S. Documentary, 2012), Generation Wealth (Sundance premiere, Amazon Studios, 2018), The Kingmaker (Venice Film Festival, Showtime, 2019), and the five-part series Social Studies (FX / Disney+, 2024). Her photography monographs include Fast Forward (Knopf, 1997), Girl Culture (Chronicle, 2002), THIN (Chronicle, 2006), Generation Wealth (Phaidon, 2017), and The Queen of Versailles: An American Allegory (Lannoo, October 2026).
Greenfield’s photographs are held in the permanent collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the International Center of Photography, and the Harvard Art Museums.
Alongside her film and photography practice, Greenfield has directed award-winning advertising campaigns. The Always “#LikeAGirl” campaign won the Film Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial and made Greenfield the first woman named “Most Awarded Director” by Ad Age. Her most-watched film, The Queen of Versailles, inspired a recent Broadway musical and is the subject of her latest monograph, The Queen of Versailles: An American Allegory (Lannoo, October 2026). It re-examines the story of a billionaire couple building America’s largest home as prologue to the Trumpian era.
About the party host
Close Friends Worldwide is more than an event series. It is a global community and cultural brand rooted in Berlin. Built on connection, energy and a shared love for music, it brings people together across borders. From Berlin to London, Paris, New York, Houston and Cape Town, it creates curated experiences shaped by a unique community and authentic atmosphere. Supported by artists and cultural voices such as Tyla, Odeal, Ashley Okoli, MIK Family, Nura, Peter Fox, NSG and JayO, the movement continues to grow while staying true to its roots.
Event Photography & Recording
We may take photographs, videos and audio recordings during this event to share the experience across our website, social media channels, press materials and other communications. By attending, you may appear in these recordings.
If you would prefer not to be photographed or recorded, please let a member of our team or the event host know on site.