| | | | | | | | | Gaitri-Sweeb © Aldith Hunkar. | | | Surinamese Wedding Portraits | | | | | | | 24 June – 7 September 2022 | | | Open for Business -
Magnum Photographers on Commission | | | | | | | ... until 7 September 2022 | | | | | | | ... until 12 October 2022 | | | | | | | – 10 July 2022 | | | | | | Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Keizersgracht 609 . 1017 DS Amsterdam
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Piare-Parabirsing © Robby Parabirsing | | | | | Surinamese Wedding Portraits | | | | | | | 24 June – 7 September 2022 | | | | From 24 June, Foam will present the exhibition Surinamese Wedding Portraits, a collection of memorable portraits that together cover almost a century of Surinamese history. The photographs span the period from 1846 to 1954, when Surinam was still a Dutch colony. The family photos and stories show the extent to which Surinamese people, under Dutch administration, migrated to all corners of the world. They often found their partner elsewhere, in places like Aruba, Curaçao or Bonaire, in the former Dutch East Indies, the Netherlands or North America. The strength of this collection of personal photos therefore lies in the multitude of different engagements that stretched across the globe. | | | | | | | | | | Lievendag-Overeem © Shirley Overeem | | | | | | A century of marriages in Surinam, in words and images
With over one hundred wedding pictures and stories, this exhibition portrays the wedded lives of Surinamese people between 1846 and 1954. The portraits tell the story of the countless personal bonds that often transcend national boundaries, ethnicity or religion. The many different family histories reveal how this did not always go down smoothly. Yet most lovers followed their hearts, and love generally triumphed over the spirit of the times.
The family stories are often interwoven with important themes in Suriname’s colonial history, such as slavery, contract labour, immigration and emigration, conflict and struggle. But the stories also talk about personal bonds, diversity and unity. For that reason, the photographs are not only of great significance to the people whose family histories were immortalised, but also embody a shared (inter)national history.
The earliest photograph in the collection dates from 1846: just seven years after the introduction of daguerreotype, an early photographic process that soon made its way to Surinam. The bride in this photograph, Maria Louisa de Hart, was born into slavery. The last photograph dates from 1954, the year Surinam became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Independence followed on 25 November 1975.
The idea to bring these extraordinary portraits together originated with Lucia Nankoe, the initiator of this exhibition, in 2014. Together with her team she spoke with descendants of bridal couples with at least one ancestor of Surinamese descent. The resulting collection of portraits has continued to grow steadily since the publication of a book and a travelling exhibition in 2019. The project now comprises more than 135 photographs and stories, which together span almost one century of Surinamese history.
Some of the stories were written down by the descendants personally, others were drawn up based on conversations, written information and archival material. Some photographs lack background information, and many show traces of time and use, such as scratches and stains. These historical traces have been left intact on the scans that are on display. | | | | | | | | | | Lang-Kort © Denise Kort en Erny Kort | | | | | | We wish to thank the descendants who made their photographs available for this exhibition.
This exhibition was created in collaboration with initiator Lucia Nankoe. Foam also thanks Gerard Sweep and Astrid Waltmans for their support.
The book Trouwportretten. Surinaamse Voorouders in Beeld. Album 1846-1950 was published by Uitgeverij In de Knipscheer in 2019. A follow-up book will be published later this year.
Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam.
In 2022 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and receives a contribution through the Mondriaan Fund from the Ministerie van OCW. | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Gucci makeup fashion shoot, Brooklyn, New York City, USA, 2019
© Bruce Gilden / Magnum Photos. | | | | | Open for Business -
Magnum Photographers on Commission | | | | | | | ... until 7 September 2022 | | | This spring Foam presents the exhibition Open for Business – Magnum Photographers on Commission. For over 75 years, the photographers of Magnum Photos have not only created photographic icons on both major events and hidden stories, but have simultaneously worked on commission. The exhibition shows a side of Magnum that the general public is hardly aware of, and which its photographers rarely promote themselves. In eight chapters, the audience is taken on a variety of commercial assignments: from carte blanche group assignments for governments to the hippest fashion photography; and from chic publications for major industries to reporting in the service of NGOs.
Although rarely recognized as "Magnum work" by a wider audience, it does tell a vital part of the Magnum story, and of the story of photography in general, which occupies a complex cultural position at the intersection of art, documentary and commerce. | | | | | | | | | | A young actor working with the Fani Raghman Ani group, an association defending human rights in Tunisia, showing a taffoo on his back saying ’freedom’ in Arabic. Tunis, Tunisia, 2017 © Newsha Tavakolian / Magnum Photos | | | | | | This exhibition aims to unveil an interesting and lesser-known aspect of Magnum photographers’ portfolios and, in doing so, the reality of a career in photography: Open For Business exposes the true nature of the job, which comes with assignments that highlight the qualities of Magnum’s visual storytellers in completely different ways.
Open for Business shines a light on the diversity of Magnum’s commissioned work from the 1950s to 2019. From the beginning, the balance between independent and commercial work has led to fierce discussions amongst Magnum photographers. Every member of the agency considers corporate commissions differently. This exhibition features the outcome of these experiences, putting a sharp focus on the ethical questions that arise with them. It reveals interactions between commercial and personal photography, emphasizing the ways in which photographers have shaped or changed the visual languages of corporations by applying their personal sensitivity to assignments, with surprising, ironic and often humorous results. | | | | | | | | | | New York City, USA, 1953 © Werner Bischof / Magnum Photos | | | | | | This exhibition has been developed in collaboration with Magnum Photos Paris and the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation. It is curated by Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, and Mirjam Kooiman, curator of Foam.
Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the Gemeente Amsterdam.
In 2022 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and receives a contribution through the Mondriaan Fund from the Ministerie van OCW. | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mashallah with extra cheese, 2021 © Mous Lamrabat / Loft Art Gallery | | | | | | | ... until 12 October 2022 | | | | Foam proudly presents Blessings from Mousganistan, an exhibition by self-taught photographer Mous Lamrabat (Morocco, 1983). Beauty and a sense of hope are central to Lamrabat’s work. His photographs are playful and surrealistic, every so often subtly provocative, but always vibrant and fun. His work is exhilarating and at times a confronting fusion of his diasporic life, using beauty and humour to create powerful new narratives related to sensitive issues like racism, religion and women’s rights. In Blessings from Mousganistan, the artist shares a message of love through a colourful and eclectic visual experience. | | | | | | | | | | X-Rated#1, 2017 © Mous Lamrabat / Loft Art Gallery | | | | | | Blessings from Mousganistan
The world of Mous Lamrabat is a place where life is at peace and people are loved, no matter where you are from or where you are going. This is the experience the artist wants to bring across in the exhibition Blessings from Mousganistan: you step into the fascinating utopia the artist has created within the museum walls of Foam. He asks and sometimes pushes the viewer to look differently at the images in front of them; he has superimposed his photographs in large lenticular prints or vacuum pulled portraits around a Nike logo and the McDonalds “M” the artist incorporated into his work. By changing the shapes of well-known symbols and images, Lamrabat deconstructs the notion of “normal”. What first consisted of familiar colours and forms has now been altered and redefined into a different meaning defined by the artist. In his exhibition, Lamrabat also provides a chance for a more intimate interaction to see the works up close which serves as an introduction to the final part of the exhibition where universal prayer flags grace the space. The installation is a response to the ongoing stream of refugees from all parts of the world. It is a reminder from the artist to take care of one another and more importantly, to care of everyone indiscriminately of their skin colour or origins. | | | | | | | | | | Slow it down 2017 © Mous Lamrabat / Loft Art Gallery | | | | | | Mous Lamrabat was born in Northern Morocco and grew up in Flanders, Belgium. He is an autodidact photographer who graduated with a degree in Interior Design from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. His work has been published internationally in magazines such as Vogue, Esquire, Stylist Magazine, among many others. In 2020 Mous was part of the group exhibition Just Pictures, curated by Antwaun Sargent at projects+gallery, St. Louis (Missouri) and in 2021 he had a solo exhibition at the photography museum FOMU in Antwerp. Mous Lamrabat is represented by Loft Art Gallery in Casablanca, Morocco.
The exhibition Blessings from Mousganistan will be opened on Friday 27 May, in the presence of theartist. | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | The red bags are used for the seeds, 2021 © Ana Núñez Rodríguez. | | | | | | Foam 3h: Cooking Potato Stories | | | | ... until 10 July 2022 | | | “When you say ‘potato’ the response is often an autobiography; potatoes provide a way for us to speak about ourselves.” Rebecca Earle (2019)
Foam proudly presents the exhibition of Ana Núñez Rodríguez. By collecting stories small and large, personal and historical, factual and fictional, Núñez Rodríguez investigates how “[t]he potato packs a universe of symbolic information on identity, domination and social differentiation.”
Cooking Potato Stories
The potato is cultivated almost everywhere, and globally cherished as an important part of local food cultures. What can a potato tell us about ourselves? Tracing the trajectory of the potato across the world, Ana Núñez Rodríguez asked herself this question. Núñez Rodríguez set out on a quest to unearth local ‘potato stories’ across the world, including her own childhood memories and her migratory trajectory between Spain, the Netherlands and Colombia. The resulting harvest of verbal and visual anecdotes, recipes, myths and memories surrounding the potato forms a mosaic of how the humble crop universally inspires cultural and individual identities. The many stories told in this exhibition present the humble potato as the product and cause of violence, famine and migration across the world. Yet they also talk about survival, sharing, belonging and family. The continuous transformation and adaptation of the potato becomes a metaphor for human resilience, and for how our identities are rooted in the stories we tell each other. | | | | | | | | | | Upside Down, 2020 © Ana Núñez Rodríguez | | | | | | Influences around the world
The artist’s family history is fundamentally intertwined with that of the potato. The crop was first domesticated in South America and was brought to Europe by the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century. Through a process of cultivation and modification, it continued to spark unprecedented population growth in Europe and beyond, and radically transformed local cuisines. From fries to aloo, tortilla, gnocchi, or ‘stamppot’, the tuber has since been widely adopted as a national or local food in countries across the world.
However intertwined our societies and economies are with the potato, none can truly call them native. The story of the potato began long before the concept of nation-states existed, and the trajectory of the potato from the Andes into our kitchens was marked by many obstacles. It took centuries for the crop to take root in the cold European soil, and was initially valued for its decorative flower. The work of Núñez Rodríguez shows us that the story of the potato is one of continuous metamorphosis and adjustment to its local surroundings; a feeling that the artist (and many with her) can identify with. | | | | | | | | | | Who conquered who?, 2020 © Ana Núñez Rodríguez | | | | | | Ana Núñez Rodríguez is based between Europe and Latin America. She studied Documentary Photography and Contemporary Creation at IDEP Barcelona, holds a postgraduate degree in Photography from the National University of Colombia and holds a Master degree in Photography and Society from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KABK) in The Hague. She was part of Lighthouse 2020-21, a program for upcoming talents at Fotodok, Utrecht.
This exhibition is made possible by the Van Bijlevelt Foundation and the Leeuwensteinstichting.
Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) supports the exhibition through the Programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Culture (PICE).
Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the Gemeente Amsterdam.
In 2022 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund. | | | | | | unsubscribe here
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© 22 June 2022 photo-index UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
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