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online event
Dec 10
Dec 10, 2025
Open Studio with Ugo Woatzi

“In the Alzou Valley once flowed a unique queer community devoted to the river deity. They were fluid beings; the valley and the river breathed with them - a world where queerness, nature, and faith intertwined. But the harmony broke, the waters darkened, and the people of Alzou drifted into exile, leaving only whispers in the river’s song.”

Join us for Ugo Woatzi’s Open Studio, our newest residents at the FUTURES Hub, and celebrate the end of the year together!

Ugo Woatzi will present their project l’eau brille aussi la nuit as part of the FUTURES & MPB Residency.

Ugo Woatzi’s practice emerges as an intimate and poetic gesture, weaving the political with the imaginary. Moving through constellations of mediums, speculative fragments, queer theories, collective and personal memories, their work imagines new possibilities for belonging and transformation—both for our bodies and for the worlds we inhabit.

For the artist talk, Ugo Woarzi will be in conversation with Samira Damato, filmmaker, curator and artistic director for the Pride Photo Award.

Event Details:

👉 Please RSVP by 9 December 2025 to confirm your attendance.

About the portfolio sessions

As part of the Open Studio, Ugo Woatzi, guest teacher at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, will organize four sessions of portfolio discussion, where the participants will have the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics, such as the development of their practice, what it means to take part in a residency program, how to structure a portfolio. Each session is an open conversation on the different aspects of the creative process, without being focused exclusively on the review of the portfolio.

The sessions will take place between 16:00 and 17:30 at the FUTURES Hub and it will be possible to sign up through the form below. There are four spots available, assigned on a first-come, first-served signup basis.

⚡️ Sign up here for the Portfolio Sessions

About Ugo Woatzi

Ugo Woatzi’s practice emerges as an intimate and poetic gesture, weaving the political with the imaginary. Moving through constellations of mediums, speculative fragments, queer theories, collective and personal memories, their work imagines new possibilities for belonging and transformation—both for our bodies and for the worlds we inhabit.

In 2024, Woatzi was a participant at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, followed by a residency at WIELS, Centre for Contemporary Art in Brussels, in 2025. Woatzi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and completed studies at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, as well as an MA in Visual Arts at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. Since 2023, they have also been a guest teacher at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

The opening is part of FUTURES X MPB residency, supported by MPB, the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video gear.

Supported by Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (AFK).

Photo Credits: Johan Poezevara⁠

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Past events
things we had a lot of fun at
open for application
online event
Nov 6
Nov 9, 2019
Futures' highlights during Paris Photo

From November 7th to 10th, the 23rd edition of the Paris Photo brings to the Grand Palais a big programme dedicated to professionals, collectors and enthusiasts. Some of our Futures talents will take part of the event in exhibitions, talks, and book launches.

We selected the Futures’ highlights in and alongside Paris Photo 2019:

GRAND PALAIS. Curated by Osei Bosun, the Curiosa Sector this year is dedicated to emerging art. The duo Elsa & Johanna was invited to exhibit in the sector, where they show works from the series A Couple of Them. On November 8th, at 6pm, they will also participate in a talk with the sector’s curator and the artists Leandro Feal, Nydia Blas, and Nathaniel Lewis.

Meanwhile, Máté Bartha’s works will be presented by the TOBE Gallery at the main sector (booth D31).

Inside the book signing programme, on November 7th at 4pm, Francesca Catastini will also sign her new book ‘Petrus’ published by Kehrer (booth SE7).

SATELLITE EVENTS. Outside the Grand Palais, Vincent Levrat will launch his new book from the project ‘Outburst’, published by Ciao Press. The event will be hosted at Los Patos (23 Rue de Nemours, Paris) on November 8th at 7.30pm.

On November 8th, the talent Jean-Vincent Simonet will open his studio (21 Rue Basfroi, Paris) with Andreas Lumineau from 6pm to 10pm. They will present the installation ‘Brace! Brace!’.

At the Galerie Joseph Paris (4-6 Rue de Braque, Paris), Julie Poly is part of the show group LensCulture Discoveries 2019. The exhibition presents works from 52 award-winning photographers from 21 countries. Meanwhile, at Espace Lhomond (21 Rue Lhomond, Paris), the talent Aisling McCoy is presenting together with the artists Shane Lynam. The opening is on November 7th, at 6.30pm.

More information about Paris Photo 2019: www.parisphoto.com.

open for application
online event
Sep 18
Sep 21, 2019
Futures at Unseen Amsterdam 2019

Futures will host a series of events during Unseen Amsterdam 2019. This year, the project will have its own space at the festival, inside the Westergastheater. This space will work as a headquarters, bringing together the 12 members of Futures and the 69 emerging talents with a programme of showcases, talks, lectures and private meetings. The activities are focused both on the festival's visitors and on the project's talents in order to increase the capacity, mobility and visibility of new artists in Europe. Unseen Amsterdam will take place at Westergas from the 19th to the 22nd of September.

SHOWCASE. During the four days of the event, Futures will present artworks from the 69 artists and collectives selected for this year. These emerging talents were chosen by 12 leading photography institutions in Europe: British Journal of Photography (UK), The Calvert Journal (UK), CAMERA (IT), Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center (HU), FOMU (BE), Hyères Festival (FR), Fotofestiwal Lodz (PL), PHotoESPAÑa (SP), PhotoIreland (IE), Photo Romania Festival (RO), Triennial of Photography Hamburg (DE), and the Unseen Foundation (NL). The showcase will take place inside of the Futures’ space at Westergas. A publication about the talents will also be released during the event.

PROFESSIONAL MARKET. The events will be focused on increasing and amplifying the professional opportunities for the artists. On Friday 20th Sept, ‘Futures Conversations’ will take place; private meetings with experts from the field such as international curators, collectors and editors. On Saturday 21st, experts from the Creative Europe programme will join the event in a talk dedicated to grants opportunities for artists and cultural institutions within the EU. On the same day, the lecture ‘How to translate your work to a bigger audience and make it relevant’ will see the dialogue between the editors of The Calvert Journal about the relation between words and images as well as the lecture ‘Challenges in the artists' professional practice’ moderated by PhotoIreland director Ángel Luis González Fernández will be about steps in an artist’s career.

ING UNSEEN TALENT PROGRAMME. In a partnership between ING, Unseen, and Futures, five Futures Talents from 2019 were selected as finalists for the ING Unseen Talent Award. They are: Elena Aya Bundurakis, Ulla Deventer, Irene Fenara, Kevin Osepa, and Karolina Wojtas. Coached by Adam Broomberg, from the artistic duo Broomberg & Chanarin, the artists are producing a new body of work. The result can be seen at the exhibition ‘Nature of Change’, during Unseen Amsterdam. The winners will also be announced in the event.

WOVEN MATTERS. Inside Unseen Amsterdam programme, the Futures talents Elena Subach and Mous Lamrabat will also show some of their work at the exhibition Woven Matters, developed by Unseen Foundation. At the Machinegebouw, the showcase presents an overview of artists combining textiles and photography within their practices. The works explore juxtapositions between the tactility of materials and the two-dimensionality of photographic images.

Throughout the four days of Unseen Amsterdam, the Futures Talents of 2019 will be invited to meet photography professionals, present their portfolios, and participate in talks and lectures.

FUTURES PROGRAMME (WESTERGASTHEATER)

THURSDAY - 19TH OF SEPT. (ONLY FOR GUESTS)
- Evening opening, with presentations of the selected artists of 2019
FRIDAY - 20TH OF SEPT.
- 10.00-17.00 - Futures Conversations: Private meetings between the 2019 Futures talents and 30 among the finest professionals in the photography field
SATURDAY - 21ST OF SEPT.
- 13.00-16.00: Panels
- Creative Europe Mobility Programme, introduced by Silvana Verdiana
- Nomadic H, a project by 2018 Futures artists collective
- Challenges in the artists' professional practice: Salvatore Vitale, Sheng Wen Lo, and Diana Scherer, moderated by Angel Luis Gonzalez, Director of PhotoIreland
- How to translate your work to a bigger audience and make it relevant: Editors of the Calvert Journal, Taco Hidde Bakker (indipendent curatora) and Bertan Selim (representing Prins Claud Fund) in conversation
SUNDAY - 22ND OF SEPT.
- 10.00-11.00: Futures meeting Fuji (only for guests)
- 11.00-12.30: Futures Partner Eurokleis at work (only for guests)
- 12.30: Goodbye moment (only for guests)

More about Unseen Amsterdam: https://amsterdam.unseenplatform.com/event

open for application
online event
Sep 5
Oct 12, 2019
Exhibition 'The Image is Our Voice' in Amsterdam

Five of our Futures Talents of 2019 will present their work at the exhibition ‘The Image is Our Voice’ in Amsterdam. Organized by Unseen Foundation and Melkweg Expo, the show opens on 6th of September (Friday) at Melkweg Expo. The five artists were selected by Unseen this year to join the Futures platform. They are: Eline Benjaminsen, Verena Blok, Pleun Gremmen, Eva Kreuger, and Kevin Osepa.

Five photographers, fives voices, five projects which raise questions about themes that span from cultural identity to socio-economic processes and politics. The selected photographers have one thing in common: they use images to question the world around them and propose challenging perspectives to their audience. Examining subjects that are hidden rather than distinctly visible, they are eager to engage with the photographic medium and stretch its borders.

In order to provide support to the young artists, Unseen Foundation has selected independent curator Iris Sikking to coach and advise them––whatever stage they might be at in the work process. At the end of this program, the resulting work is showcased in a group exhibition in Amsterdam.

THE IMAGE IS OUR VOICE

Melkweg Expo, Marnixstraat 409, Amsterdam
From 7 September to 13 October
Opening: 6 September, 18:00 - 22:00
Free entrance
More info: https://www.melkweg.nl/27485

open for application
online event
Aug 4
Oct 7, 2019
The Polish Futures Talents Launch
After that, I had this idea to go to other defence fairs to show this global aspect of the arms trade, even though I had no idea how to fund all the travel costs. After travelling to South Korea for the next fair, I was lucky enough to win the German VG BildKunst Grant in 2018 and PHMuseum Grant 2019. So now, after 14 fairs on five continents, it feels pretty ordinary for me to walk around observing what’s happening.

The Polish Futures Talents Launch will be one of the main parts of the Night of Photography. it will take place during Fotofestiwal’s Opening Weekend - June 21st to June 24th. The venue of the Night of Photography will be the Piotrkowska Street - the longest street in Poland and one of the longest commercial thoroughfares in Europe. The Night of Photography will consist of 5 large format projections (slideshows) in the public space, presenting emerging European photographers. It will be organized in cooperation with other Futures members, the City of Lodz and the Lodz Events Center.

open for application
online event
Jul 11
Jul 11, 2019
Triennial Futures Talents 2019 Presentation @ House of Photography

The Triennial of Photography Hamburg presents their five Futures Photography Talents of 2019 this Friday, July 12th, during the Sommernacht der Fotografie. The event will take place at the House of Photography/Deichtorhallen Hamburg, at 9pm. The artists will be introduced with a presentation of their work and participate in a talk with the chief-curator of the House of Photography, Ingo Taubhorn.

For the Futures Talents of 2019, the Triennial of Photography Hamburg selected five emerging artists: Lia Darjes, Johanna Maria Fritz, Nina Hansch, Lukas Heibges, and Alexander Kadow.

More information about the event: https://bit.ly/2XIS7pD

PROGRAMME
19.00 Opening Gute Aussichten - junge deutsche Fotografie
20.00 Start Sommernacht der Fotografie
21.00 Presentation Futures Talents

open for application
online event
Jun 26
Jun 26, 2019
31 days of .tiff 2019

Belgium is teeming with talented photographers in Europe. FOMU has used the pages of .tiff magazine to provide exposure for ten promising photographers per year since its inception in 2012. The magazine has since evolved into an international platform also possible thanks to the Futures platform.

During one month this summer, FOMU will show recent work by the following artists selected for .tiff 2019: Elena Aya Bundurakis, Bertrand Cavalier, Jeroen De Wandel, Ulla Deventer, Lionel Jusseret, Léonard Pongo, Maroussia Prignot & Valerio Alvarez, Titus Simoens, Egon Van Herreweghe & Ann Vincent.

PROGRAMME
7.00 PM Guest preview
Food and drinks in museum café Pixel
8.00 PM Official opening reception
Speeches by Elviera Velghe, director of FOMU and Luk Lemmens, president of De Museumstichting.
Followed by a reception with music by We Are Various Soundsystem.

open for application
online event
Jun 19
Jun 19, 2019
5 Dutch Talents

Unseen Foundation exists alongside Unseen’s companies Unseen Amsterdam, Unseen Magazine and Unseen International. Unseen Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organisation that aims to increase the impact of artists, working with photography, on society. Unseen Foundation endeavours to launch initiatives to promote the work of emerging artists, with a specific focus on young talent.                                                      

The foundation is part of the platform since 2019 and it has been called to nominate 5 emerging talents based in the Netherlands.

For the selection process Unseen Foundation worked with six nominators. Each of them brought forward five names of artists that they would like see in Unseen Foundation’s talent selection. In a second step, Unseen together with Iris Sikking selected the final five talents.
                     
Nominators:
- Delphine Bledel, Artist, Researcher & Publisher
- Fleurie Kloostra, Curator Melkweg Expo
- Jenny Smets, Director of Photography Vrij Nederland
- Sara Blokland, Artist and Curator
- Taco Hidde Bakker, Writer
- Bertan Selim, Head of Grants & Collaborations Prince Claus Fund

The final 5 Dutch talents are Eline Benjaminsen,  Eva Kreuger, Kevin Osepa, Pleun Gremmen, Verena Blok.

The talents will be launched and presented to the audience on Thursday Sept 20th in Amsterdam in a public talk between them and the curators Iris Sikking and Amelie Schule, representing Unseen Amsterdam.

Starting at 18.00

open for application
online event
Jun 12
Jun 29, 2019
18th International Festival of Photography in Łódź

#Spirituality, #Communities, #Rituals, #Cognition, #Metaphysics, #SupernaturalPhenomena, #Ghosts, #Specters - these are some of the topics which are in the spotlight of the 18th International Festival of Photography in Łódź. This year’s edition, which takes place on June, 13 – 30, will fill every single corner of the city with a variety of events and activities encouraging its audience to visit almost thirty international exhibits and new formerly inaccessible locations. The duration of the festival stretches over three weeks and happens to coincide with the long weekend in June.

The festival programme comprises eight solo shows and one group show that are divided into the three thematic sections. First of all, the festival unveils the projects related to spiritual communities, rituals and cultural roots of spirituality itself. Another section is devoted to the issue of scientific progress scouring for answers to metaphysical questions, to the rational approach to current spiritual exploration. Last but not least, selected art projects demonstrate attempts to convey the invisible and forge a connection with spirits through the creation of an image by the artists who adopt the role of intermediaries or alchemists of sorts.

As usual, the programme will be complemented by a series of workshops, photo-walks in the former factories, evening slideshows with live music, meetings and discussions held in the educational section co-created with the University of Lodz, as well as professional events, particularly Photo-Match – a completely different portfolio review. Hailed by the international community of photography events’ organizers as the trademark of Fotofestiwal, Photo-Match is open also to a wider audience. Finally, a profusion of films devoted to the main theme of the festival and medium of photography itself will be screened as part of our special film programme.

Over twenty accompanying exhibitions will be orchestrated by local gallery spaces, which encourage you to delve even deeper into the urban landscape. Our partners include: Book Art Museum, Municipal Art Gallery, Punkt Odbioru Sztuki, Mała Czarna Gallery, ASP Piotrkowska 68, Wschodnia Gallery, Central Museum of Textiles, Portrait Studio, Wi-MA and Lokal.

Opening of exhibitions in the amazing interiors of the former headquarters of the institutes of German and Roman studies at the University of Lodz. In the column hall and old lecture halls we will see three exhibitions, and then we will dance on the dance floor with the organizers of the most dance cycle in the city – Jazztko. Throughout the night, the corridors of the building will display projects by: Katarzyna Wąsowska, Iacopo Pasqui, Elena Subach, Patrycja Wojtas, Karolina Wojtas (talents nominated by Fotofestiwal to the Futures platform).

open for application
online event
Jun 6
Jun 6, 2019
Futures @ PHotoESPAÑA 2019

PhotoESPAÑA selects for the second year a group of artists to be part of the @futuresphotography platform, an initiative formed by twelve recognized institutions from all over Europe. The objective is to give mobility, visibility and international projection to artists from all over the continent and also to create a network, which grows every year, of professionals, markets and audiences. The five visual artists selected show their interest through different formats such as video, painting or installation # PHE19

Click here for more information

open for application
online event
May 31
May 31, 2019
Photo Romania Festival 2019

Photo Romania is opening its 2019 edition and celebrate their nominees for Futures with multiple events and exhibitions happening in the town of Cluj in Romania.
- @ Casino Urban Cultural Center: Exhibition of Javier Corso's project "Matagi". The Spanish photographer is one of the nominees of 2019 for Futures
- In the amazing frame of the Salina Turda, a natural salt mine 30 km from Cluj, the exhibition of works by Oana Stoian and Catalin Anghel
- In the Wincon gallery,  the Greek photographer and Futures artist Panagiotis Papoutsis is exhibiting his work "The Past of Things"

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