FOTODOK

On 9 June, FOTODOK welcomed 13 students from the University of South Carolina (), United States, together with their tutor, Kathleen Robbins (.robbins.studio). During their visit, Iliana Michali () introduced FOTODOK’s mission and activities, both online and offline, as well as its talent development and educational programmes. The group also joined an exhibition tour by Casco () and Luke Cohlen (), followed by a tour led by Dunya Zita () of her exhibition “Mejmou3en (Together)”, which was on view at FOTODOK’s office.

FOTODOK is always pleased to exchange knowledge with diverse communities and foster connections through programming that engages with pressing social issues.

We look forward to welcoming more groups and visits like this in the future, continuing to create opportunities for learning, dialogue, and exchange.

Documentation by Wijgert-Jan van As ()

At our recent FOTOKIDS workshop (), we explored Sun Prints and the creative possibilities of working with light. After looking at examples of photograms and artists who use light-sensitive processes, the children headed outside to experiment with layering, transparency, and found materials.

The results ranged from abstract compositions to playful impressions of hands, hair, and everyday objects. Each Sun Print reflected a different approach, showing how a simple technique can lead to endless variations and discoveries.

As FOTOKIDS came to a close, parents were invited to take a closer look at the vibrant blue prints and guess what was hidden within them before the artworks went home with their makers.

Photos by Wijgert-Jan van As ()

We’re excited to share that Kevin Osepa ()’s first solo exhibition abroad, “Ocho Día. Eight Days, Nine Nights”, will be on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb () from 11 June – 6 September 2026 as part of the 14th edition of Organ Vida Festival ().

Through photography, video, personal objects, and artefacts, Osepa explores themes of ritual, collective mourning, memory, and spirituality rooted in Curaçao’s Afro-Caribbean traditions. The exhibition creates an immersive space where the boundaries between the everyday and the sacred begin to blur.

“Ocho Día. Eight Days, Nine Nights” is guided by Osepa’s ongoing research into the gradual loss of ritual traditions in Curaçao and invites visitors into a contemplative encounter with grief, remembrance, and belonging.

FOTODOK is proud to support this exhibition in a facilitating role.

Curated by Daria Tuminas ()

Ann van der Torn ()‘s notes from Lighthouse Open first session!

Upcoming session:
14 July · 12:00–16:00

This edition, “Sharing Roles: From Individual Practices to Collective Support”, asks: How can we build creative practices rooted in collaboration rather than constant self-management?

Register via the link in bio.

📣FOTODOK is looking for volunteers to support our upcoming exhibitions and events.

If you are interested in contemporary photography and want to gain hands-on experience in exhibition making and event production, this is an opportunity to join our team from September onwards.

FOTODOK works with visual storytelling to explore urgent social and political issues through exhibitions, dialogue, research, talent development, and education. Together with local and international artists, we create space for new perspectives and meaningful exchange.

What you’ll get:

– Experience in exhibition making and event production
– Access to FOTODOK events
– Opportunities to connect with artists and cultural professionals
– Food and drinks during working hours
– Volunteer compensation
– Invitation to an introductory gathering at FOTODOK on 26 June

Upcoming projects:

BredaPhoto Festival 1–10 September
Support the installation of FOTODOK’s exhibition in Breda.

Futures Photography Annual Meet-Up & FOTODOK Exhibition 18–29 November
Support exhibition production and assist during conference days in Utrecht.

Photobook Week 25 November–12 December
Support the first edition of this new national event across exhibitions, presentations, workshops, educational activities, and public programming.

Apply before 20 June and indicate your availability and preferred events.

https://cloud.fotodok.org/index.php/apps/formvox/public/5316783/yP3Jgds4wnvNF3ODDV25nk2lfcqv0Htr

Questions: [email protected]

What happens when artists stop trying to do everything alone?

Lighthouse Open returns with a new series of Sofa Talks (.sofa), inviting emerging and established creatives to come together, share experiences, and rethink how we sustain artistic practices collectively.

Developed from the spirit of Lighthouse Specials, Lighthouse Open expands access to the conversations, tools, and peer support within the FOTODOK Talent community. Because not being selected for Lighthouse should never mean the end of the exchange.

Upcoming sessions:
28 May · 12:00–16:00
14 July · 12:00–16:00

This edition, “Sharing Roles: From Individual Practices to Collective Support”, asks: How can we build creative practices rooted in collaboration rather than constant self-management?

Most of us are expected to be everything at once: artist, producer, communicator, fundraiser, organiser. Through group exercises and collective reflection, these workshops explore how shared roles, mutual care, and collective support can create more sustainable ways of working together.

Sofa Talks is a member-hosted platform initiated by Aline Papenheim (.papenheim) and Gundega Strauberga ().

Open to everyone who applied to Lighthouse 2025, as well as previous participants of Lighthouse and Lighthouse Specials.

Maximum capacity: 30 participants.

Register via the link in bio.

⚠️LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR JOURNEYS! ⚠️

With this new program, FOTODOK is broadening its support to include a wider community of photographers preparing for international photography festivals. The Journeys program guides how to present your work, navigate festival settings, and build connections within an international network.

The Discovery Track takes place on 19–20 May, followed by additional sessions on 26–27 May.

Registration is open via the link in bio!

Font by Interlope by Gabriel Dubourg. Distributed by velvetyne.fr.

Background image by Maite Vanhellemont ()

Meet Justin Chiderah Ugochukwu (), a decolonial artist, curator, and researcher based in Rotterdam and part of Lighthouse 2025–2026. Born in the Netherlands, he recently graduated in Photography, Film & Digital Arts from St. Joost School of Art & Design in Breda.

His practice engages with themes of mutual aid, Black identity, and decolonial thinking, using art as a space to research, question, and challenge dominant narratives. While rooted in documentary photography for its observational and anthropological qualities, his work expands into visual arts and design through an interdisciplinary and process-driven approach.

Working across textile, photography, film, printmaking, and text, Ugochukwu creates installations, sculptural works, and publications. His practice also extends into nightlife through video jockeying, where visual storytelling takes on a performative and collective dimension.

During Lighthouse at FOTODOK, he continues developing “Unwoven, Unwritten”, a project exploring the lasting impact of colonial histories on diasporic identities. Drawing from his Nigerian and Indonesian heritage, he weaves together textiles, photographic collage, and sound to construct layered narratives that reclaim heritage and reflect on hybridity.

Meet Xaveer May (), part of Lighthouse 2025–2026, an Amsterdam-based image-maker whose practice moves between photography, archiving, and storytelling. Rooted in a journalistic sensibility, his work unfolds through sustained engagement with people and place.

Rather than approaching subjects from a distance, May works through proximity and exchange, allowing relationships to shape both the process and the images themselves. His practice is less about capturing singular moments and more about building contexts in which stories can emerge over time.

Central to his work is an interest in how narratives are preserved, translated, and shared—particularly those that exist within oral histories and collective memory. Photography becomes one element within a broader approach that includes conversation, research, and lived experience.

During Lighthouse, he develops “Odo Onoribo,” a project that engages with Surinamese odo’s—proverbs carrying communal knowledge. Through collaboration and fieldwork, he explores how these forms of wisdom continue to resonate within contemporary life, tracing their presence across landscapes, communities, and everyday encounters.

Meet Wang Xue Sophia (), an artist working across photography, video, performance, and writing, and part of Lighthouse 2025–2026. Born in Xining, China, and trained in journalism and fine arts, her practice is shaped by experiences of migration, otherness, and cultural hybridity within the multiethnic context of Northwest China.

Her work centers on the embodied realities of minority women at the margins, exploring how personal narratives are deeply entangled with collective histories and social structures. By revisiting her “mother tongue” as a form of languaging, she approaches the body as a living archive through which identity and power move across generations and geographies.

Moving between visual and embodied methodologies, Wang uses singing, dancing, and sonic memory to revisit and unlearn inherited scripts, while photography and moving image hold gestures that exceed spoken language. At the core of her practice is the question of rhythm—how systems choreograph the body, and how improvisation can open space for freedom.

During Lighthouse at FOTODOK, she continues her exploration of image–space–body relations, creating installations that invite viewers into active, embodied encounters where memory and meaning are continuously reshaped.