Foam Magazine has been awarded several prizes for both its high-grade graphic design and the quality of its content. Most recently, Foam Magazine was awarded Photography Magazine of the Year at the Lucie Awards 2017 and 2019.

Foam Magazine is an international photography magazine published three times a year by Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.

Foam Magazine is sponsored by Igepa Netherlands BV, supplier of excellent paper.

From art, literature and media to academia and internet culture, the visual and the written language have crossed paths many a time, creating a genre of their own. Learn more about the current issue of Foam Magazine

Image from the photo series 3eib!

Foam Magazine #60 Glyphs – The Image + Text Issue

Foam Magazine #60: Glyphs - The Image + Text Issue

Text-to-image generators have gained tremendous popularity over the past years. This specific application of artificial intelligence allows users to create digital images based on textual input. It seems that any desired image is just a few clicks away, with little to no technological knowledge about the inner workings needed.  

But what happens underneath the hood? How does a text-to-image AI exactly work? This step-by-step explainer will lift (some) of the curtains of image generation and shed light inside the black box of AI. 

Disclaimer: this is a simplified explanation of text-to-image generation. In reality, there are many different types of generation models, approaches and techniques. To learn more about this complex technology, we recommend reading 

Inside the Black Box


Results

Text to Image explained

Still from Northern Winds with Jonathas de Andrade - Ammodo Docs

With my art projects, I approach people that historically experience oppression in many different ways. But still, their culture, their tradition, their way of keeping knowledge alive: they represent resistance in many ways.,

Still from the documentary Northern Winds with Jonathas de Andrade

Northern Winds: Artist Jonathas de Andrade’ Fascination with Jangadeiros | Ammodo Docs

watch the documentary

see more

Northern Winds: Jonathas de Andrade’ Fascination with Jangadeiros

Aby Fulani

"Every age has its great loss – for modernism, it was the coherence of the self; for postmodernism, the stability of master narratives – and now, in the 21st century, there is an increasing pressure on the notion of a shared reality."

Mugshots.com, N8, from the series Obscurity, 2016

Mugshots.com, N, from the series Obscurity, 2016

Mugshots.com, N2, from the series Obscurity, 2016

”There is a new way of understanding our times.. a new wave of realism, a new wave of artists who are engaged in political issues. “Evidential Realism” is the realism of today… “

Liz Johnson Artur - of life of love of sex of movement of hope, 2021

Paolo Cirio: Artist of the Post-Panopticon Era

Mooncake, Foam Café, Amsterdam

Spread from Chinees-Indisch Stickeralbum

Cahier for Benjamin Li's In Search of Perfect Orange - Chinese Version

Chinese version

In Search of Perfect Orange. About the work of Benjamin Li

See, through you, from the filmstrip series 36 Serendipities, 2021

Untitled, 2023

There are fairies by the lake, from the filmstrip series 36 Serendipities, 2021

Portrait with goats from the series Motherlands – three faithful things, 2021

Young Human. An interview with ShuShu Sieberns

Dialect, 2020-2023

Dialect, 2023, Courtesy of LooseJoints

Installation view of Dialect

learn more

Ask The Artist: Felipe Romero Beltrán

Aspromonte - Guilty Grounds, 2023

The barrel – Guilty Grounds, 2023

Silent Chronicles. About the work of Steffi Reimers

A still from Wild Encounters, 2023

"At a certain point I lost track of you. 
They make a desolation and call it peace. 
when you left even the stones were buried: 
the defenceless would have no weapons." 

"When the ibex rubs itself against the rocks, 
who collects its fallen fleece from the slopes? 
O Weaver whose seems perfectly vanished, 
who weighs the hairs on the jeweller’s balance?"

"If only somehow you could have been mine, 
what would not have been possible in the world?" 

‘In the lake the arms of temples and mosques are locked in each other’s reflections.  
Have you soaked saffron to pour on them when they are found like this  
centuries later in this country  
I have stitched to your shadow?’ 

How to Love a Tree: Wild Encounter. About the work of Hira Nabi

, an exhibition that features work from Dutch photographers who captured the consequences of the German occupation during the 1944-45 ‘famine winter’ in Amsterdam. 

De verborgen camera van fotograaf Cas Oorthuys, mei 1945

Foam

Twee vrouwen op de terugweg van een hongertocht begin 1945

Illegale opname vanuit fietstas van commandopost Kriegsmarine, genomen vanaf het Emmaplein de Emmalaan in, Amsterdam, 1944

Afsluiting Jodenbuurt bij de Waag, Nieuwmarkt, Amsterdam, 1941

“The exhibition The Underground Camera captures the hunger and hardship in Amsterdam during the final year of World War II, but also sheds light on the untold stories behind the images, offering fresh perspectives.”

De Ondergedoken Camera

Gigapedia: Haatsymboliek en Online Codetaal

Bereitschaft, 2024

Gigapedia: Exhibition Glossary. About the work of Jakob Ganslmeier and Ana Zibelnik

Foam proudly presents the solo exhibition 

by Hiền 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. 

Scent from Heaven, Still from the Film No. 3, 2023

A new best life, 2021

A scan from the Photo album of the artist's late aunt.

Made in Rice, backstage from the left video, 2021.

Lidar-Mesh from the experiment, 2024

Hiền Hoàng - Garden of Entanglement

Mario Klingemann, The Butcher’s Son, 2017, Giclee printon paper, 80x57cm

Helena Sarin, AI Candy Store, 2018, Fine art print on paper, 20x20cm

David Young, (b38, 4016,16) from Learning Nature series, 2018, Fine art print on paper, 30x30 cm

Harold Cohen, Arnolfini Series, 1983, Plotter drawing, 60x80cm

Obvious, Portrait of Edmond de Belamy, 2018, Inkjet print on canvas, 70x70cm

Roope Rainisto, Emergent Culture from Excessize series, 2022

Spread from Morehshin Allahyari's portfolio in Foam Magazine #66

Foam
Magazine
#66 Missing 
Mirror


our annual print edition

From Innovation to Art: The History of AI Images

Page 144-145 in Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES.

Page 138-139 in Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES

Page 142-143 in Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES

Presenting Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES—The Environmental Issue

Time to change perspective.

Foam Magazine #64 Extremes - The Environmental Issue Cover: Abundance, 2023

On Transience – The Ebb & The Flow

From the Archive:  Establishing Eden by Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács

Khashayar's home studio in Lausanne, 2025. Courtesy of the artist

Khashayar's home studio in Lausanne, 2025

Archival material: digitising negatives from The Caspian

From the series The Caspian by Khashayar Javanmardi

Studio Visit: Khashayar Javanmardi

Installation shot Mid-Air, Blommers & Schumm

Mid-Air t-shirts by Blommers & Schumm in Foam shop

Studio Visit: Blommers and Schumm

by Augusta Curiel. Augusta Curiel (1873-1937) was one of Suriname’s first women photographers, running a highly successful photography studio in Paramaribo together with her sister Anna (1875-1958). The exhibition offers a contemporary perspective on the people and landscapes of Suriname as captured through the lens of the ‘Curiel Sisters’ in the early twentieth century. Featuring both well-known and rarely seen images, this exhibition highlights their versatile practice and unique role in Surinamese society during the Dutch colonial era.

Aankomst van het stoomschip HM Hertog Hendrik op de Surinamerivier bij Paramaribo, 6 februari 1928

Anna en Augusta Curiel in actie tijdens landing van het watervliegtuig de Dornier DOX op de Surinamerivier 18 augustus 1931

Augusta Curiel - Surinaamse fotografe 1873-1937

 by non-fiction artist and photographer Khashayar Javanmardi. Javanmardi, who grew up in this region, has spent the last decade documenting the deterioration of the southern shore of the Caspian, which borders Iran.

His ongoing project captures the deterioration of the south shore of the Caspian Sea and underscores the need to connect political and structural change to everyday life in response to the mismanagement of the region and global climate crisis.

Caspian, Breakwater, May 2019

Caspian, Qezel Ozan River, February 2022

Foam 3h: Khashayar Javanmardi

In light of Pride Amsterdam 2025, Foam is proud to present 

 by darkroom & fine art photographic artist 

The exhibition reflects on the importance of black queer archiving, with a specific focus on photography and lens-based practices, while exploring the position that black queer image-makers currently occupy within the Dutch photographic and cultural landscape.

Black Queer Archiving: Questioned at the Intersection, 2025

Ajamu X - Us in the Frame

Shine, 2024

Riverside Scene, 2021

Nap, 2021

Albany, Georgia, 2021

Untitled (Two Girls Embrace), 2021

A Glint of Possibility, 2022

Flotation, 2022

Test of Time: Tyler Mitchell

Join us on Thursday, 28 August, for a special edition of 

 by Augusta Curiel. This evening of deep listening brings together sound, image, and archive, inviting you not only to see Suriname but also to hear it.

The programme begins with a live performance by 

, followed by a lecture around the work led by 

Throughout the evening, we invite you to explore vinyl listening stations featuring curated Surinamese music that offer new ways to engage with Curiel’s photographic legacy through rhythm, memory, and atmosphere.

Afrovism: The Garden of Frequencies

Foam Talent now: Myriam Boulous

Open Garden Days 2025

On Thursday, 4 September, Foam presents the evening programme 

: AI in the Archive, in collaboration with 

This symposium explores the power, vulnerability, and future of the photographic archive—particularly online archives—through the lens of collections related to the Second World War and heritage institutions. Hosted by Ahmet Polat, guest speakers 

Text

Out now: Foam Magazine #60 Glyphs – The Image + Text Issue

Text to Image explained

Northern Winds: Jonathas de Andrade’s Fascination with Jangadeiros

Paolo Cirio
Artist of the Post-Panopticon Era

In Search of Perfect Orange
About the work of Benjamin Li

Young Human
An interview with ShuShu Sieberns

Ask The Artist:
Felipe Romero Beltrán

Silent Chronicles
About the work of Steffi Reimers

How to Love a Tree: Wild Encounters
About the work of Hira Nabi

The Underground Camera

Gigapedia: Hate Symbols and Online Codes
Exhibition Glossary

Hiền Hoàng
Garden of Entanglement

From Innovation to Art:
The History of AI images

On Transience – Theme Text Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES–The Environmental Issue

Establishing Eden by Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács

Studio Visit: Khashayar Javanmardi

Studio Visit: Blommers & Schumm

Augusta Curiel Yere Mi Sten

Foam 3h: Khashayar Javanmardi
The Caspian ‘Lake’

Ajamu X Us in the Frame

I Can Make You Feel Good by Tyler Mitchell

Afrovism: The Garden of Frequencies

Myriam Boulos: Foam Paul Huf Award Winner 2025

Preservation is Power: AI in the Archive

In Conversation with Marina Abramović

Text

Out now: Foam Magazine #60 Glyphs – The Image + Text Issue

Text to Image explained

Northern Winds: Jonathas de Andrade’s Fascination with Jangadeiros

Paolo CirioArtist of the Post-Panopticon Era

In Search of Perfect OrangeAbout the work of Benjamin Li

Young HumanAn interview with ShuShu Sieberns

Ask The Artist: Felipe Romero Beltrán

Silent ChroniclesAbout the work of Steffi Reimers

How to Love a Tree: Wild EncountersAbout the work of Hira Nabi

The Underground Camera

Gigapedia: Hate Symbols and Online CodesExhibition Glossary

Hiền Hoàng Garden of Entanglement

From Innovation to Art: The History of AI images

On Transience – Theme Text Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES–The Environmental Issue

Establishing Eden by Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács

Studio Visit: Khashayar Javanmardi

Studio Visit: Blommers & Schumm

Augusta Curiel Yere Mi Sten

Foam 3h: Khashayar JavanmardiThe Caspian ‘Lake’

Ajamu X Us in the Frame

I Can Make You Feel Good by Tyler Mitchell

Afrovism: The Garden of Frequencies

Myriam Boulos: Foam Paul Huf Award Winner 2025

Preservation is Power: AI in the Archive

In Conversation with Marina Abramović

Paolo Cirio
Artist of the Post-Panopticon Era

In Search of Perfect Orange
About the work of Benjamin Li

Young Human
An interview with ShuShu Sieberns

Ask The Artist:
Felipe Romero Beltrán

Silent Chronicles
About the work of Steffi Reimers

How to Love a Tree: Wild Encounters
About the work of Hira Nabi

Gigapedia: Hate Symbols and Online Codes
Exhibition Glossary

Hiền Hoàng
Garden of Entanglement

From Innovation to Art:
The History of AI images

Foam 3h: Khashayar Javanmardi
The Caspian ‘Lake’