"The Essentials" was a collaborative photo exhibition spread across Munich's U-Bahn stations that paid tribute to the professions defined as "essential" (systemrelevanten Bereichen) during the pandemic. By exhibiting the photos in public areas, "The Essentials" put the people working these critical jobs under the spotlight. The aim of the project was to portray the diversity of these professionals (public transport drivers, firefighters, nursing staff, supermarket employees, educators, psychologists, care workers...) who enabled us to carry on with our lives during this exceptionally challenging time.