Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, more commonly known as FOAM, is set inside a stunning Dutch canal-side house at Keizersgracht. It is one of Europe’s well-known museums devoted to photography. Around 200,000 people visit FOAM each year, making it among the Netherland’s most popular photography museums. If you are a photography enthusiast, you must make it a point to be here at least once during your Netherlands trip.
You really have to visit FOAM also when on Amsterdam private tours to experience what it is like being inside it. Inside FOAM, there are modern glass and chrome and original architectural elements that offer an artistic ambiance. Stark walls and big windows serve to draw attention to photographs on display at the museum. The windows give views to the museum garden, which makes up for the fact that the garden is inaccessible to the common public.
Inside, FOAM has a namesake café, where you can have drinks and snacks and enjoy browsing with free wireless internet. There is also a store in the museum foyer that has photography-themed posters and books for sale.
Multi-media displays and still photographs are shown in this museum. It also hosts photography shows regularly, devoted to emerging talents and international artists. When it hosts these exhibitions of multiple artists’ works simultaneously, the visitors have an opportunity to see work by emerging and world-famous photographers. These many contrasting parallel exhibitions provide you with the option to see what you would like to. Having this choice is essential for those who visit FOAM with children. Why? Because it tends to show the provocative aspect of modern photography, so if you feel like your kids want something lighter, you have the option for that here.
It is the kind of exhibition variety that family viewers seek from a museum like this. Exhibitions here rotate every two months. Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam also runs various workshops, lectures, guided tours and discussions on photography.
Free 60-minute-long guided trips are held each Thursday evening in Dutch and English, at separate timings, giving a more thorough insight into its exhibition.
How to Reach Here
Keizersgracht is within walking distance from the Muntplein square. Just walk down the Vijzelstraat Street and take a left to the Keizersgracht canal (north side). Tram 24 will stop at Muntplein, and Metro 52 at adjacent Vijzelgracht. Nearby, there is another photography museum named Huis Marseille.