Each year, Foam invites photographers to submit their portfolios via the Talent Call, an international search for exceptionally talented photographers under the age of 35. Selected photographers gain international exposure and recognition within the photography industry through a number of career-building opportunities offered by Foam, including publication in Foam Magazine, participation in a travelling group exhibition and the opportunity for their work to be added to the prestigious Art Collection Deutsche Börse of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in Frankfurt.
EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY TALENT
This year 19 artists were selected as Foam Talents 2020:
Aàdesokan (Nigeria), Sofia Borges (Brazil), Adji Dieye (Senegal/Italy), Rahima Gambo (Nigeria), Karla Hiraldo Voleau (France/Dominican Republic), Benoît Jeannet (Switzerland), Luther Konadu (Canada/Ghana), Matthew Leifheit (United States), Douglas Mandry (Switzerland), Philip Montgomery (United States), Camillo Pasquarelli (Italy), Simone Sapienza (Italy), Micha Serraf (Zimbabwe/South Africa), Hashem Shakeri (Iran), Gao Shang (China), Kamonlak Sukchai (Thailand), Guanyu Xu (China/United States), Yorgos Yatromanolakis (Greece), Alba Zari (Italy/Thailand).
These exceptional young photographers were selected out of 1.619 received submissions from 69 countries. Their portfolios were published in the internationally distributed Foam Magazine #55: Talent.
Subsequently Foam will now present their work in a travelling group exhibition.
PORTRAIT
Although Foam Talent symbolizes a rich range of genres and uses of photography, the edition of Foam Talent 2020 is characterized by (sometimes lengthy) research, in which the role of the portrait is a recurring theme. Where Alba Zari tries to construct a portrait of her unknown biological father through old family photos and computer technology, Luther Konadu's work is a reflection of the photographic portrait itself: through cutting and pasting he investigates the construction of identity.
Adji Dieye responds to economically determined stereotypes and traditional roles by reinventing an African tradition of studio portrait photography. Karla Hiraldo Voleau distorts fact and fiction and undermines the male gaze through selfies and intimate portraits of her Latin lovers. The diverse series and artworks in Foam Talent 2020 show individuals and communities that have long remained invisible or in the margins, exploring who we are and how we see ourselves in a constantly changing reality: between the analogue and the digital, between myths and belief systems, between the private and public and between fact and fiction.
PHOTOGRAPHY IN LIMBO
In collaboration with the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and C/O Berlin, Foam organized an evening full of artist talks and Q&As around the opening of the exhibition Foam Talent | Berlin on 21 October 2020.
Click here to watch the full video.
INTERNATIONAL TOUR
Foam Talent 2020 will be on show at the following locations:
22 October - 1 November
Foam Talent | Berlin
KühlhausBerlin
18 December 2020 – 10 March 2021
Foam Talent | Amsterdam
Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
The Foam Talent programme and the annual Talent issue of Foam Magazine are supported by The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, the VandenEnde Foundation and the Niemeijer Fund.
Foam Talent is made possible by Kleurgamma Fine-Art Photolab, Starframe, Oschatz Visuelle Medien and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Foam Talent Berlin is supported by Outset Germany_Switzerland.