.tiff 2026 & Kelvin Haizel
2 new exhibitions at FOMU from 26 June 2026
FOMU opens 2 new exhibitions on Friday 26 June. .tiff 2026 - Emerging Belgian Photography offers a fresh look at contemporary photography. FOMU supports 10 promising artists and photographers with a Belgian connection every year with .tiff .
In Material Revolts: Ecosystem against Empire, Ghanaian artist Kelvin Haizel (1987) takes a microscopic look at the photographic representation of colonial history.
The press is welcome to visit the exhibitions. Contact Isabelle Willems or Sarah Skoric to make an appointment.
Alderwoman for Culture Lien Van de Kelder: "With .tiff we are doing exactly what we want to encourage with our cultural policy: we offer young, promising makers opportunities and a stage to show themselves. At the same time, Kelvin Haizel challenges us to look at our colonial past with a different perspective; he literally puts that theme under the microscope. This summer, FOMU is already doing what it promises: broadening our view with a stimulating and multifaceted offering."
.TIFF 2026 - Emerging Belgian Photography
26 June 2026 - 23 August 2026
Each year, through .tiff, FOMU supports 10 up-and-coming artists and photographers who live or work in Belgium. In its exhibition and magazine, .tiff offers a fresh perspective on contemporary Belgian photography.
Discover the work of these talented artists: Chloé Azzopardi, Teó Becher, Aliki Christoforou, Yaqine Hamzaoui, Tatjana Huong Henderieckx, Simen K. Lambrecht, Tom Lyon, Natalie Malisse, Anthony Ngoya and Darwin Taday Cabrera.
.tiff reflects the Belgian photography landscape in all its artistic dynamism and diversity. The .tiff programme is a flexible pathway that responds to the needs of emerging photographers. For these artists it means: being part of the magazine and exhibition, opportunities to network with international professionals, and coaching sessions.
FOMU works together with an independent panel of experts to select the ten rising talents. This year the panel consists of Magali Elali, founder and artistic director of The Constant Now; Cale Garrido, curator of the Triennial of Photography Hamburg; and Youqine Lefèvre, artist and .tiff 2021 alumna.
.tiff is part of Futures, a European Platform for Photography, with the support of Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. Every year, Futures organises a number of networking events and exhibitions for young photography talent. Discover their full calendar on the Futures website.
.tiff magazine is available for purchase in the FOMU shop for €7.
With the generous support of Walufin N.V.
Kelvin Haizel - Material Revolts: Ecosystem against Empire
26 June 2026 - 23 August 2026
In Material Revolts: Ecosystem against Empire Kelvin Haizel (1987, Ghana) examines the photographic representation of colonial history in microscopic detail.
His point of departure is a 19th-century photo album from the FOMU collection. This album contains ten portraits of Congolese men, women and children, who were exhibited in the human zoo at the Antwerp World's Fair of 1885.
While we often consider a photo to be a moment frozen in time, Haizel sees it differently, as living material. He directs his focus to the deeply hidden organic processes playing out in these old albumen prints. By making bacteria, fungi and chemical processes visible, he reactivates these static images to tell a different story.
In this way, Haizel breaks with old, fixed patterns of how we think about our colonial past. He liberates the photographed persons from the prison of history and allows them to speak in a new, more layered voice. A unique cross-fertilisation of science, history and visual art that challenges you to look again.
FOMU x Thinking Tools (KASKA)
FOMU creates space for new and different perspectives, inviting organisations and collectives to engage in interventions and collaborations. In 2024, Kelvin Haizel was a guest of the research group Thinking Tools (KASKA). The results of his three-month residency are now being shown at FOMU.
About Kelvin Haizel
Dr. Kelvin Haizel (1987, Ghana) researches the boundaries of photography and the material power of the image. In his work, he often focuses on the transformation of archival images by microbial processes. He has exhibited across the globe, including at documenta fifteen, and last year received a doctorate in the arts at KNUST in Kumasi.
Kelvin Haizel, Silence between the Laughs: Portraits of Us. 1885-2026 © Kelvin Haizel
Kelvin Haizel, Unseen Allies. A set of ten petri dishes with cultured microbes. 1885-2026. © Kelvin Haizel
Kelvin Haizel, Unseen Allies. A set of ten petri dishes with cultured microbes. 1885-2026. © Kelvin Haizel
Kelvin Haizel, Silence between the Laughs: Portraits of Us. 1885-2026 © Kelvin HaizelPress images & Interviews
For high-resolution press images, please contact Isabelle Willems and Sarah Skoric.
The press is welcome to visit the exhibitions. No separate press event is planned. The .tiff photographers and Kelvin Haizel will be present at FOMU on 26 June and are available for interviews. Interviews are also possible on other days.
You can request a press visit or interview through Isabelle and Sarah.
The portfolio magazine .tiff is on sale in the museum shop for €7. A free press copy can be requested from Isabelle and Sarah.
Announcement autumn programme FOMU:
Graciela Iturbide & Léonard Pongo
Graciela Iturbide - Eyes to Fly With
18 September 2026 - 17 January 2027
This autumn, FOMU presents a major retrospective of the renowned Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide. Her work explores themes such as identity, social relationships and ephemerality.
The title of the exhibition, Eyes to Fly With, is inspired by one of Iturbide’s self-portraits and refers to her vision of photography as a means of exploring both oneself and the world. For Iturbide, photography has an emancipatory quality, opening up new perspectives on reality.
Visitors will discover well-known series such as Juchitán de las Mujeres, White Fence and La Matanza. The exhibition also includes Iturbide’s intimate photos of Frida Kahlo’s bathroom – sealed off for fifty years after her death – to which she was granted rare access when it was finally reopened.
The exhibition has been developed in close consultation with the artist and comprises around 160 works, from iconic black-and-white photographs to rarely seen vintage prints, colour photos and contact prints.
Léonard Pongo - Dialogue with the Source
18 September 2026 - 17 January 2027
Dialogue with the Source invites us to approach the Earth as a living source of knowledge. Especially for FOMU, Belgian-Congolese artist Léonard Pongo has developed a spatial installation bringing together photography, video and textile works. The exhibition is the result of 9 years of visual research in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pongo proposes a renewed way of experiencing the natural environment, rooted in Congolese traditions, symbolism and philosophy.
Léonard Pongo’s work is currently on display at the Venice Biennale and has previously been exhibited at Tate Modern, London and Jeu de Paume, Paris. In 2019 he took part in .tiff, FOMU’s platform for young talent. His work is also represented in the FOMU collection.
Isabelle Willems
Sarah Skoric