Foam 2025: from underrepresented historical stories to pioneers of contemporary photography

‘In 2025, photography reaffirmed its essential role in society; as a tool for sparking dialogue, witnessing conflicts around the world, navigating the growing influence of AI and online imagery, and the societal impact the medium generates. At Foam, we look back on an exceptionally strong year of artistic programming, presenting new perspectives, underrepresented stories, emerging talent, and pioneers in both contemporary and historical photography. We showcased 20 exhibitions, accompanied by educational programs and publications, both in print and online. We presented photography that questions, connects, and encourages new ways of seeing. We are grateful to all the visitors, photographers, collaborators, and patrons who helped make this year unforgettable.’

– Karin van Gilst, Director of Foam. 

The Dutch newspaper Het Parool ranked Foam number one in The Best Visual Art of 2025, with broad recognition for all the exhibition programming.

In 2025 we welcomed nearly 200,000 visitors to our museum, including 20,000 primary and secondary school pupils, as well as higher education students, who participated in Foam’s educational activities. We presented 20 exhibitions, including several outside of the museum, such as displays in public spaces like Mercatorplein in Amsterdam, and at the creative space MAQAM in Amsterdam West. Internationally, we showcased exhibitions including Foam Talent at the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in Frankfurt and Diana Markosian’s presentation at Rencontres d’Arles, where the exhibition won the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles 2025. Our exhibitions were covered in more than 450 media publications, including a five-star review in the Volkskrant, a TV item on NOS Journaal, and international features including Al Jazeera, Financial Times, and The New Yorker. 

This year, Foam renewed all of its educational programmes for primary, secondary, and vocational (MBO) education, inviting students to look from different perspectives, and engage with social themes and technologies such as AI. A special project was the 10-year MBO in Foam exhibition and the exhibition where we showcased photos of the emerging artist Fidelio Faustino on the Amsterdam ferry. During ADE, we organised a music event on that ferry in collaboration with Echobox Radio. 

In the first-ever museum exhibition of the Palestinian Dutch photographer Sakir Khader, we showed how the camera can serve as both witness and weapon in areas of conflict. The opening attracted more than 1,000 visitors, and Dutch Palestinian poet Ramsey Nasr gave a speech that was later featured in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. The exhibition, Yawm al-Firak, won the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts 2025. 

The Hidden Camera paid tribute to Dutch resistance photographers such as Cas Oorthuys and Emmy Andriesse, who risked their lives during WWII to document life under German occupation. Organised in collaboration with the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the exhibition was presented in honour of Amsterdam’s 750th jubilee and the celebration of 80 years since the liberation of The Netherlands. The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, opened the exhibition, and UNESCO added The Hidden Camera collection to the Dutch Memory of the World Register, making it the first photographic heritage collection to receive this distinction.   

Foam presented a retrospective of the work of late 19^th-century Surinamese photographer Augusta Curiel to mark 50 years of Suriname’s independence, showcasing 100 loans from Dutch museums and archives, some of which had never been shown before. 

Portrait photographer Koos Breukel‘s exhibition gave visitors the rare chance to see the artist at work. In a specially designed studio, visitors had the chance to have their portraits taken and speak with Breukel about his craftmanship and technique. Additional highlights included a retrospective of Saul Leiter, a pioneer of colour photography, and the first retrospective exhibition of the life’s work of Co Rentmeester, honouring one of the most influential Dutch photographers of the twentieth century. Rentmeester remains the only Dutch winner of the World Press Photo award.

Foam presented exhibitions by leading contemporary photographers who bring innovative perspectives to themes of identity, history, and visual culture. Among them were shows by Foam Paul Huf Award winner Hiền Hoàng, Diana Markosian, Blommers & Schumm, and Hajar Benjida. In Foam 3h, we continued to showcase emerging talent experimenting with the photographic medium, including explorations of 3D photography and AI-driven work. 

The 17^th edition of the worldwide Foam Talent Call took place this year, marking our biennial search for a new wave of emerging photographers. We received a record of 2,900 submissions from 107 countries, and the open call reached more than 8 million people through social media. The 19^th winner of the Foam Paul Huf Award, selected by an independent jury, was Myriam Boulos, a Foam Talent alumna from 2022. 

During Paris Photo, we celebrated the launch of Foam Magazine #67: The Test of Time. The magazine has undergone a redesign, and weekly content on photography and image culture will now also be featured on Foam Magazine online.  

In 2026, Foam will present a programme driven by pressing social and political issues, and highlight the work of celebrated photographers and emerging voices through the Foam Talent exhibition. War is Personal by the Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova, will offer a personal and compelling perspective on everyday life in a war zone. In commemoration of his recent passing, Foam will present a tribute to the legacy of Martin Parr in the spring of 2026 with a selection of his extensive oeuvre. The programme of 2026 also features an exhibition by Chinese fashion photographer Hailun Ma, an exhibition on womanhood, abortion and reproductive rights by artist Verena Blok, new work by Foam Paul Huf Award winner Myriam Boulos and a large-scale exhibition, The Edge of Things, by renowned image-maker Nadav Kander. While running this programming, the museum will be partially accessible for several months in the spring and summer of 2026 due to major maintenance work.