Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Spotlights Ammar Yassir's Portraiture of Migration
The biannual Foam Talent initiative returned for its seventeenth edition, bringing fresh perspectives from emerging image-makers to the global stage. This year, the cohort of fifteen selected artists explores the fundamental question of what defines a home, creating highly personal works amidst a backdrop of global displacement, political shifts, and economic instability.
Among the standout contributors featured in the Foam Talent 2026 selection is 21-year-old Sudanese photographer Ammar Yassir, whose evocative photography series explores the deeply felt realities of conflict and exile.
Exploring Contemporary Photography: What to Expect at Foam Amsterdam
Visitors to the museum can experience how contemporary artists are pushing the boundaries of documentary image-making. In his featured series, I will never find home, Ammar Yassir employs double-exposed black-and-white photography to construct a poignant visual narrative.
The images display a melancholic beauty, capturing both the confusion and profound sense of loss that accompanies sudden displacement. The subjects of these portraits include Yassir’s own family members as well as people he encountered while fleeing escalating violence, traveling through four different towns across the Middle-East and West regions of Sudan.
By layering images and integrating written text and self-portraiture, Yassir moves past traditional, hands-off documentary styles. His work presents an intimate, autobiographical record that invites viewers to connect with the human stories behind geopolitical headlines.
A Closer Look at the Artist and Curator
Ammar Yassir is a filmmaker and documentary photographer currently working out of Uganda. His photography regularly centers on the ongoing situation in Sudan. Despite his youth, Yassir has already earned recognition as the youngest recipient of a commendation from the Ian Parry Grant for Photojournalism, and his imagery has been featured by international organizations such as the UNDP in Sudan.
The accompanying commentary for the series was authored by Rahiem Shadad, a Sudanese researcher and curator. Shadad, who has directed galleries in Khartoum and Nairobi, focuses his research on how migration and physical displacement shape artistic output across generations.
For those who wish to delve deeper into the portfolios of this year’s selected artists, the complete curatorial essays and image series are available in the printed edition of Foam Magazine #68. You can order a copy of the magazine directly from the official online shop.
To help plan your next cultural journey and discover more about the city's artistic landscape, use Musemap (musemap.art) to browse Amsterdam museums, find upcoming gallery spaces on the Amsterdam culture map, or locate specific venues via our Amsterdam museum directory.
