Every year, a network of 18 leading photography institutions each select five emerging talents to take part in FUTURES. This European photography platform brings together the global photography community to support and nurture the professional development of emerging artists worldwide. For 2025, FOTODOK is proud to nominate: Angeniet Berkers, Benjamin Li, Julius Thissen, Parisa Aminolahi and Tashiya de Mel. They will each join the FUTURES community and network, which provides them with opportunities to showcase their work and participate in professional events. 

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Employing a variety of different styles, the selected artists share multi-layered creative practices and innovative approaches to the medium of photography. Whether excavating forgotten histories, studying the impact of diasporic family relations or navigating trans and queer visibility in a polarised political climate, their works approach a range of pressing social questions, many of which are rooted in contemporary Dutch society; questions to which FOTODOK is committed.

FOTODOK is pleased to announce its nominees for the 2024 cycle of FUTURES: a pan-European photography platform co-funded by the European Union. Farren van Wyk, Gilleam Trapenberg, Hanane El Ouardani, Prins de Vos and Suzette Bousema will each join the FUTURES network, providing opportunities to showcase their work and participate in a calendar of professional events. The selected artists will present a range of projects – some still ongoing – that address a plethora of important contemporary questions, from migration and masculinity to diasporic identity and climate change. FOTODOK believes that these various artistic perspectives can enrich crucial societal conversations, underlining the transformative power of visual storytelling.

FOTODOK asked each of the FUTURES talents this year to share two projects: one from the earlier stages of their practices, and the other their newest – perhaps even ongoing – work. What connects the resulting submissions is an interest in subject matters relevant to today, such as the war in Ukraine, environmental crises, and the shifting of identities and cultures. Each of the five talents is someone with whom FOTODOK is building up continuing professional relationships, and we are honoured to be sharing their works.

FOTODOK believes in the important role of photography in co-creating collective knowledge around socially relevant subjects. While we cherish international collaborations, we also support an active community of makers in the Netherlands. The development of long-standing professional relations with artists is crucial for us, and nominating artists to the FUTURES platform gives us another tool with which to deepen those ties.