Connecting the World to Where Photography Began
Zero Baseline of Photography maps the genetic code of the medium through verified first photographs.
It is cultural infrastructure, built for historians, educators, researchers, and institutions who care about where photography comes from and what that means today.
What Zero Baseline is
Photography is the defining visual medium of the modern world. Its origins, its firsts, and the history of how it evolved have never been formally mapped in a single, verified, accessible resource. Until now.
Zero Baseline currently documents over 40 verified first photographs across the full arc of photographic history. Each entry is assessed against four parameters: authentic and un-manipulated, photographic in technique, historically or scientifically significant, and genuinely inaugural in its category. The collection is not finished. Photography's history is not fully mapped. That openness is part of what makes Zero Baseline a living resource rather than a closed archive.
Zero Baseline is led by Patricia von Ah. Read her note on why she built it.
What partnership offers
Association with a permanent, non-commercial reference platform
Visibility across an international research, curatorial, and educational audience
Alignment with the photography bicentennial. A once-in-a-generation institutional moment
Acknowledgement across platform, press materials, and published essays
200
Years Documented
40+
Verified First Photographs
2027
Bicentennial Anniversary
"This is a cornerstone initiative for Switzerland's cultural and academic heritage."
Susanne Holthuizen — Founder of Swiss Cultural Channel, Network TV
How We Partner
Partnership with Zero Baseline takes different forms depending on the scale and nature of your institution's involvement. All partnerships begin with a conversation.
Link & Visibility
Your institution carries a link to Zero Baseline as a reference resource. You are listed and acknowledged publicly. Lightweight. No ongoing commitment required.
Institutional Collaboration
Active involvement: a co-hosted lecture or workshop, a dedicated essay commission, joint programming around key moments in the photographic calendar, or being named in bicentennial publication.
Strategic Partnership
A multi-year, bilateral relationship: named bicentennial sponsor, co-curated programming, sustained alignment with the platform's long-term development as cultural infrastructure.
Partnerships confirmed in 2026 shape the bicentennial programme. We welcome conversations now.
Our Commitments
Editorial
independence
Inclusion in the collection is determined solely by the methodology. Partnership status does not alter inclusion or exclusion.
Transparent
acknowledgement
All partners are named publicly. Tier and contribution are recorded.
No commercial
overlay
Partner content is not promoted within the collection or essays. Partnerships are kept structurally separate from editorial work.
Long-term
alignment
Partnerships are pursued as relationships, not transactions. We commit to multi-year horizons where the work warrants.
Current Partners
FHNW Academy of Art and Design
Academic Collaboration
photo basel
Cultural Infrastructure
Innosuisse - Swiss Innovation Agency
Strategic Development
Network TV
Media & Educational Reach
Voices
“The Zero Baseline is a rare convergence of art, science, and history. An approach I’ve never seen before.”
SVEN EISENHUT-HUG
FOUNDER — PHOTO BASEL
"The Zero Baseline unites art, science, and technology, offering a unique platform for interdisciplinary research and teaching."
PROF. MICHAEL RENNER
ACADEMY OF ART AND DESIGN FHNW
"This belongs in every school, library, and academic or cultural institution."
URS STAHEL
FONDAZIONE MAST, BOLOGNA
