FOTODOK

Name: FOTODOK
Address: Lange Nieuwstraat 7, Utrecht, 3512PA, NL
Telephone: 0651231951
Price range: $

FOTODOK | Space to see, think and learn Organisation
FOTODOK was founded in 2008 by Femke Lutgerink and Rob Hornstra. Public Programme of lectures and events.

It began as a nomadic organisation, initiating events and exhibitions in collaboration with various partners such as: The Centraal Museum, Utrecht; Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Utrecht; Het Utrechts Archief; and at various other public locations. In 2014, FOTODOK settled its office and exhibition space at Lange Nieuwstraat 7, opening for six months a year. Direction of work
FOTODOK’s programme is b

ased upon four pillars. Exhibitions address socially relevant matters. Every year we put together at least two self-initiated exhibitions, both indoors and outdoors. It contains projects such as: FOTODOK Book Club, Taferelen, Female Perspective symposium, exhibition tours, and a 360 degree tour Virtual Presence. FOTODOK has three Talent Development programmes with local, national and international reaches, for artists in their first years of practice after graduation: Lighthouse, mentoring about 10 artists after their graduation from Dutch academies; Blurring the Lines, supporting over thirty international graduates; and Take Off, a digital meet-up for graduates across Dutch academies. Through our Education initiatives we encourage children and teenagers from the province of Utrecht to experience photography. We produce educational projects that range from long-term collaborations with schools in the province to workshops at our own location.

29/05/2026

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.

21/05/2026

📣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]

17/05/2026

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.

15/05/2026

⚠️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 ()

10/05/2026

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.

03/05/2026

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.

28/04/2026

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.

24/04/2026

Talent Embassy is evolving into Journeys!💫

With this new program, FOTODOK expands its focus to support a broader group of photographers preparing for international photography festivals.

The Journeys program offers guidance on presenting your work, navigating festival environments, and connecting with an international network.

The Discovery Track will take place on 12 and 13 May, with follow-up sessions on 19 and 20 May.

You can now sign up via the link in bio.

Picture: Maite Vanhellemont ()

Further details on the Intensive Track and open call will be shared soon.

16/04/2026

❤️Thank you to everyone who joined us for this edition of FOTODOK BOOK TALKS #46.

Together with Giya Makondo-Wills () and four inspiring makers, Farren van Wyk (), Yan Wang Preston (), Thomas Duffield (.duffield), and Hans Gremmen (.gremmen), we explored stories shaped by personal histories, questions of identity, ecology, family, and image-making.

See you at the next edition!

Documentation by Pietro Calligaris ().

09/04/2026

This November, FOTODOK brings a group of emerging artists from the Netherlands to Atelier Néerlandais (), in the lead-up to and during Paris Photo ().

Developed in collaboration with curator Damarice Amao (), the exhibition ‘Europe Today’ presents new work by Emilia Martin (), Giya Makondo-Wills (), Julia G*t (), Maite Vanhellemont (), Mark Rammers (), Pablo Lerma (), Rafael Roncato (.roncato), Sanne van den Elzen (), Sheng-Wen Lo () and Thana Faroq ().

Through personal and exploratory approaches, the artists reflect on what it means to be European today. Rather than focusing on grand narratives, the exhibition foregrounds lived experience, exploring how questions of identity, migration, borders, and belonging are felt and shaped in everyday life.

Presented from 6 to 15 November, the exhibition offers a layered and intimate portrait of contemporary Europe, connecting local perspectives to an international audience.

A public programme, including Book Talks and TAFERELEN, will accompany the exhibition. More details to follow.

6 – 15 November 2026 Atelier Néerlandais

In collaboration with the Dutch Embassy () and Atelier Néerlandais ().

More info via the link in bio.

Adres

Lange Nieuwstraat 7
Utrecht
3512PA

Telefoon

0651231951

Website

http://www.fotodok.org/

Meldingen

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Contact

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