| | | | | | | | Made in Rice, backstage from the left video, 2021.
© Hiền Hoàng. Performer: Kuoko. Photo: Julia Gaes. | | | | | | | 6 June – 1 September 2025 | | | | Opening: Thursday 5 June 17:30 | | | | | | | ... until 6 November 2025 | | | The Underground Camera (De Ondergedoken Camera) | | | | UNESCO includes The Underground Camera in Memory of the World Register | | | | | | | ... until 2 October 2025 | | | | | | Tones of the Ecotone | | | | ... until 14 June 2025 | | | | | | Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Keizersgracht 609 . 1017 DS Amsterdam
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scent from Heaven, Still from the Film No. 3, 2023.
© Hiền Hoàng. Camera: Duc Cuong Nguyen | | | | | | | 6 June – 1 September 2025 | | | Opening: Thursday 5 June 17:30
Foam proudly presents the solo exhibition Garden of Entanglement by Hièn Hoàng, which encourages a multi-sensory reflection on the connection between humans and nature. Her practice is deeply shaped by interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists and technologists which reveal the ambivalent role of technology as both a means to understand nature and a force that distances us from it.
Hoàng’s multidisciplinary practice seamlessly weaves together photography, sculpture, video, installation, and performance. Central to her work is the theme of migration—explored not only through the personal lens of her family’s history, but also through the lasting traces of colonialism embedded in nature. In the exhibition Garden of Entanglement, Hoàng explores these narratives through three of her recent projects: Garden of Entanglement, Scent from Heaven, and Across the Ocean. | | | | | | | | | | A new best life, 2021 © Hiền Hoàng. | | | | | | | Hièn Hoàng is a multimedia artist from Vietnam and is based in Germany. She is the winner of the 18th annual Foam Paul Huf Award. Her artistic journey is characterised by pushing the boundaries of perception through diverse media—from experimental films to immersive installations—engaging viewers in emotive landscapes and introspection. She holds a master's degree in photography and design from HAW Hamburg. Hoàng's exhibitions have been featured at prestigious venues, including Rencontres de la Photographie d'Arles, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center Budapest, Centro Cibeles Madrid, among others. Her project Asia Bistro was included in Foam Magazine #63 FOOD! | | | | | | | | | | A scan from the Photo album of the artist's late aunt. © Courtesy of the artist's family. | | | | | | | Hièn Hoàng is the 18th winner of the Foam Paul Huf Award, an internationally acclaimed photography prize aiming to support generational talents and provide a platform for photographers from across the world. This prize has been organised by Foam every year since 2007 and is awarded to young photographers by an international independent professional jury. The jury for 2024 consisted of: John Fleetwood (curator and head of the BA Photography at the KABK and director of Photo in South-Africa), Anna-Alix Koffie (artistic director, editor and founder of, among other things, OFF the wall cultures photo), Felipe Romero Beltrán (Foam Paul Huf award winner of 2023), Kathrin Schönegg (curator, author and department head of photography at the Munchner Stadtmuseum) and Kim Sunyoung (writer and senior curator at Museum Hanmi). | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cas Oorthuys demonstrates, shortly after the liberation, how he illegally photographed during the occupation, 1945 © Charles Breijer / Nederlands Fotomuseum. | | | | | The Underground Camera (De Ondergedoken Camera) | | | | UNESCO includes The Underground Camera in Memory of the World Register | | | | | | | ... until 2 October 2025 | | | | | | | | | Two women on their way back from a hunger trip, early 1945
© Cas Oorthuys / Nederlands Fotomuseum. | | | | | | In honor of Amsterdam’s 750th jubilee and the 80th remembrance of the Netherlands’ liberation, Foam presents The Underground Camera (De Ondergedoken Camera). The exhibition showcases images captured by the group of photographers who came to be known by the same name. They photographed the harsh realities of Amsterdam during the ‘Hunger Winter’ of 1944-1945, offering a rare glimpse into the courageous missions of the resistance group and their role in documenting the Nazi occupation. The exhibition features work by renowned Dutch photographers such as Cas Oorthuys, Charles Breijer and Emmy Andriesse.
The resistance group was led by Fritz Kahlenberg and Tonny van Renterghem. In November 1944, when the German administration banned public photography, they – alongside a network of fourteen photographers – worked in secrecy to document the occupation and the resistance. Their efforts, carried out at great personal risk, preserved a crucial visual record of this era. Kahlenberg, a German Jewish filmmaker who had migrated to Amsterdam in 1933, was involved in the forgery of identity cards for the resistance. Van Renterghem had a military background and was also actively involved in resistance work. Although he was not a photographer himself, he played a crucial role in the coordination between The Underground Camera and other resistance groups. The images taken by the photographers of The Underground Camera were intended to be smuggled to London to convince the Dutch government in exile of the need for Allied food droppings in the Netherlands. Today, the photos provide a realistic perspective of daily life in Amsterdam during the last months of the German occupation. | | | | | | | | | Illegal recording from the bicycle bag of command post Kriegsmarine,
taken from the Emmaplein De Emmalaan in, Amsterdam, 1944
© Charles Breijer / Nederlands Fotomuseum. | | | | | | The historical material of the group was stored in various Dutch collections in the form of negatives, original photo prints, albums and picture books. The exhibition sheds light on topics such as the Hunger Winter, the resistance, the illegal press, instances of sabotage, the transport of weapons and the liberation by the Allied Forces.
The Underground Camera is the result of a close collaboration with the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. A publication by the same name, written by NIOD-researchers René Kok and Erik Somers, will be released in March 2025. The exhibition has been co-curated by Hripsimé Visser, former curator of photography at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, in collaboration with designer Jeroen de Vries.
The Mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, will open the exhibition at Foam.
The exhibition is part of long-term thematic The Camera as a Weapon, in which Foam is committed to focusing on the role of photography in times of war and conflict.
In light of the national observance of Remembrance Day on 4 May and the national celebration of Liberation Day on 5 May, het Amsterdams 4 en 5 mei comité, in collaboration with Foam en NIOD, will also present an exhibition. This public exhibition will be shown from 29th of April until the 6th of May on the Museumplein. | | | | | | | | | | Hunger © Marius Meijboom, NIOD. | | | | | | About The Underground Camera
Kahlenberg and Van Renterghem, the driving forces behind the operation, instructed a group of photographers from their main location at the Michelangelostraat 36 in Amsterdam South from where they oversaw their resistance activities. Many of the The Underground Camera photographers would later become internationally renowned. They concealed their cameras in handbags and jackets in order for them to take the pictures unnoticed. Many used Rolleiflex cameras which had a viewfinder on top, making it easier to take pictures from hip height. Given the danger of being involved in organized resistance, the photographers did not know who else was part of the collective and worked under neutral names such as ‘Netherlands Archive’ (‘Nederlands Archief’) and ‘Central Imagery Archive’ (‘Centraal Beeldarchief’). Just a few weeks after the liberation, in early June 1945, a selection of work was showcased in the exhibition The Underground Camera located in the studio of the photographer Marius Meijboom at the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. The exhibition brought national recognition for The Underground Camera’s work, leading the group to officially adopt this name. Now, 80 years later, their legacy returns in a new exhibition along the same canal.
The Underground Camera consisted of Tonny van Renterghem (1919-2009), Fritz Kahlenberg (1916-1996), Emmy Andriesse (1914-1953), Carel Blazer (1911-1980), Charles Breijer (1914-2011), Cornelis Holtzapffel (1916-1984), Ingeborg Kahlenberg-Wallheimer (1920-1996), Boris Kowadlo (1912-1959), Frits Lemaire (1921-2005), Marius Meijboom (1911-1998), Margreet Meijboom-van Konijnenburg (1910-onbekend), Cas Oorthuys (1908-1975), Hans Sibbelee (1915-2003), Ben Steenkamp (1917-1967), Ad Windig (1912-1996) and Krijn Taconis (1918-1979). Taconis was the first Dutch person to become a member of renowned international photography collective Magnum. | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Amandelbomen aan de Waterkant ter hoogte van Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo, Augusta Curiel, ca. 1925
Courtesy of Wereldmuseum Leiden. | | | | | | Yere Mi Sten (Hear My Voice) | | | | ... until 6 November 2025 | | | | Foam presents the first retrospective exhibition in the Netherlands dedicated to the work of Augusta Curiel (Suriname, 1873-1937). With her sister Anna (Suriname, 1875–1958) as her assistant, Curiel ran a successful photography studio in Paramaribo, establishing herself as one of Suriname’s most prominent photographers. The exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Curiel’s work, featuring over 100 images that offer a rich glimpse into Surinamese society in the early twentieth century. Augusta Curiel - Yere Mi Sten (translated from Sranan Tongo as Hear My Voice) highlights the multifaceted practice and distinctive role of Anna and Augusta Curiel in Surinamese society during the Dutch colonial period. The exhibition coincides with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Suriname’s independence. | | | | | | | | | | Anna en Augusta Curiel in actie tijdens landing van watervliegtuig Dornier DO-X op de Surinamerivier, 1931
Courtesy of Wereldmuseum. | | | | | | Using a large plate camera on a wooden tripod, Augusta Curiel likely took thousands of photographs between 1904 and 1937, both in her Paramaribo studio and on location, with the assistance of her sister Anna. She frequently received commissions to document daily life in Suriname, from official events to religious missions, traveling across the country to photograph plantations and expeditions. Curiel's work is celebrated for her technical expertise and strong sense of composition. Her photographs were widely distributed in newspapers, magazines, postcards, souvenir albums and family collections in Suriname, the Caribbean, other former Dutch colonies, and the Netherlands. Her success was formally recognised in 1929 when Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands granted her the prestigious title of Purveyor to the Royal Supplier, making her the first Surinamese photographer to receive this honour.
Of the thousands of photographs taken by Augusta and Anna Curiel, approximately 1,200 have been preserved. These images—mostly made on commission and for the souvenir market—helped shape the perception of Suriname as a prosperous colony but also bear traces of what was typically left out of the frame. While they were intended to depict a positive image, the photographs also show a country of stark contrasts, shaped by colonial rule, racial hierarchies and deep economic inequalities. Despite her significant contributions, Augusta Curiel remains an enigmatic and often overlooked figure in the history of photography. The exhibition Yere Mi Sten highlights how she has visualized the history of Suriname for a national and international audience—an extraordinary legacy.
The title Yere Mi Sten comes from the opening line of the poem Mi Dren by Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout (1910-1992), a prominent Surinamese poet and contemporary of Augusta Curiel. In Sranan Tongo, the title means Hear My Voice.
In 2022, Foam organised the exhibition Surinamese Wedding Portraits in collaboration with guest curator and independent researcher Lucia Nankoe. Her ongoing research into Augusta Curiel forms the basis for the upcoming exhibition Augusta Curiel - Yere Mi Sten. Lucia Nankoe developed the exhibition in collaboration with co-curator Jilke Golbach.
Augusta Curiel was born in 1873 in Paramaribo, where she grew up with her sisters Anna and Elisabeth and brother Adolf. Her mother, Henriette Paulina Petronella Curiel (1840-1903) was born into slavery and manumitted before 1864 by her father, Mozes Curiel, a merchant born in Amsterdam. The surname Curiel points to Portuguese-Jewish descent. Nothing is known about the father of the Curiel sisters.
The family was active in the Evangelical Lutheran church and moved in prominent social circles in Paramaribo. The three sisters lived and worked together at Domineestraat 28. Brother Adolf was a politician, plantation owner and merchant in gold, balata, coffee and cocoa, among other things. | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scale of Travelling, 2025 © Finn Maätita & Jerrold Saija. | | | | | | Tones of the Ecotone | | | | ... until 14 June 2025 | | | | Foam 3h presents Tones of the Ecotone, a collaborative exhibition by Finn Maätita (NL, 1998) and Jerrold Saija (NL, 1996). The exhibition honors the ‘ecotone’ – the transition zone between two ecosystems, such as between land and water – and connects this with the artists' Moluccan roots and the diaspora. The central focus is on the sago palm, the basis of the staple diet on the Moluccas, as a symbol of Moluccan ecological and physical omnipresence. | | | | | | | | | | Tones of the Ecotone, 2025 © Finn Maätita & Jerrold Saija. | | | | | | Maätita and Saija give thought to the experience of the Moluccan body as an extension of the Moluccan landscape, emphasizing the intersection of ecology, ancestral knowledge, and physicality. In this way, they create a new ‘shelter’: a warm, harmonious space that offers new possibilities for the future.
The exhibition Tones of the Ecotone offers an immersive, playful and pluriform audiovisual landscape. Combining ancient wisdom, photography, assemblage, and media technologies, they express the relationship and overlap between humans, nature and ancestral knowledge. In the exhibition, images and sounds merge: the heartbeat of the artists, the rhythmic beats of the Moluccan tifa, the pounding of sago palm into sago flour, the preparation of papeda, the sound guidance of gaba-gaba sticks and the melodies of the suling gaba. The exhibition itself becomes a living ecotone, a meeting place for the Moluccan diaspora, where generations, knowledge and media merge into a new ecological whole.
The exhibition Tones of the Ecotone serves as a metaphorical homecoming of the Moluccan diaspora, presented in the heart of the Amsterdam’s canal belt: a place intrinsically linked to the violent exploitation, destruction and forced displacement of nature and communities.
The exhibition is curated by guest curator Zippora Elders Tahalele, who invited the artists to Foam 3h. Like the artists, Elders has Moluccan roots and focuses in her curatorial practice on, among other things, collectivism and ecological restoration. | | | | | | | | | | Tones of the Ecotone, 2025 © Finn Maätita & Jerrold Saija. | | | | | | Finn Maätita (NL, 1998) and Jerrold Saija (NL, 1996) work individually as well as collaboratively. The practice of Maätita and Saija is deeply rooted in social engagement, advocating for connection, care, and responsibility toward one another and the earth.
Finn Maätita completed a bachelor’s in Photography at HKU (University of Arts Utrecht) and a master Planetary Poetics at the Sandberg Instituut. In his work he delves into the memories of the ecological embodiment of ancestral languages and the revitalization of this landscape. This results in layered media installations. The application of old Moluccan strategies around knowledge transfer is central to his working method.
Jerrold Saija completed a bachelor’s in Art & Research at St. Joost and a master in Ecologies of Transformation at the Sandberg Instituut. His practice spans across various mediums, including installations, sculptures and performances in which heritage, migration and ecology come together. His work explores the connection between space and memory, constantly searching for ways to make stories tangible and give them physical presence. | | | | | | unsubscribe here
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