For the fifth year running, prestigious annual event, Foam Talent, shines a light on the next generation of photographers, creating opportunities and exposure for undiscovered visual artists from around the world. Every year, Foam seeks out the most extraordinary young talent by inviting photographers under the age of 35 to submit their work via a global Talent Call. This year, 19 visual artists have been selected out of 1,619 portfolios from 69 countries. Having already been published in Foam Magazine #55: Talent, the finalists’ work will now go on public display in Berlin from October 22 - November 1 before moving to Amsterdam, where the exhibition will run from December 18 2020 – April 7 2021. 

Foam says: “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.”

This year, an overarching theme is the idea of portraiture and its uses as a means of probing oneself and the past; self-mythologising, and reconstructing identities and histories. Alba Zari’s uses family photographs and computer technology in an attempt to delineate or conjure her unknown biological father. Other finalists, such as Luther Konadu and Adji Dieye, explore the capabilities and limitations of the photographic portrait as a medium, while Karla Hiraldo Voleau seeks to undermine and challenge the male gaze with her portraits of herself and her lovers.

Visit the gallery above for a glimpse of some of the exceptional work included in Foam Talent 2020. 

Foam Talent 2020 will run at in Berlin at KühlhausBerlin from October 22 - November 1 2020, then Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam from December 18 2020 - April 7 2021.

Dazed is proud to continue its media partnership with Foam Talent. Full list of photographers here