Future Memories at the Rijksmuseum: Reflections on Visual Culture and Photographic Responsibility

Lebohang Kganye in conversation with John Fleetwood

Future Memories, an international symposium exploring the evolving landscape of photojournalism and documentary photography, was held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam on 14 May 2025. Curated by Jenny Smets, the day-long event brought together an impressive contingent of international photographers, visual artists, curators, authors and academics—both on stage, online, and in the audience. The programme reflected deeply on how photography shapes our understanding of the world and where our responsibilities lie as image-makers, consumers, and gatekeepers of media.

Discussions were guided by John Fleetwood, Director of Photo:, who played a central role throughout the day. In addition to moderating the main panels, Fleetwood facilitated key conversations with leading voices in the field, helping to steer the symposium’s critical inquiry into photographic responsibility and future imaginaries.

Framed around three central themes—visual conventions, contemporary practice, and the future of photography—the symposium interrogated how visual tropes form a shared pictorial language, while questioning whether that language is truly universal. From depictions of suffering to the idealization of innocence, sessions traced how such codes have become canonized across media, archives, exhibitions, and digital platforms—often reinforcing tropes with colonial, gendered, or racial undertones.

Fleetwood moderated the panel on visual conventions, in conversation with Joumana El Zein Khoury, Executive Director of World Press Photo, and Tanvi Mishra, curator and photo editor. Their exchange highlighted the danger of cliché imagery—like the “woman weeping” or “man rescuing”—in perpetuating a narrow visual vocabulary that can dull the viewer’s response and obscure complex realities.

On contemporary practice, Fleetwood interviewed Kadir van Lohuizen, photographer and filmmaker, and Tina Farifteh, visual artist, exploring how practitioners navigate the ethical, formal, and emotional terrain of storytelling today. In the final panel, addressing the future of photography, Fleetwood spoke with Sakir Khader, documentary photographer, Daria Tuminas, curator at FOTODOK, and Eefje Blankevoort, creative producer at Prospektor, reflecting on new modalities of image-making, collaboration, and authorship.

John Fleetwood in conversation with Tina Farifteh and Kadir van Lohuizen

The symposium closed with an open dialogue between speakers and the audience, reinforcing the importance of collaboration and conversation in rethinking photographic futures. Attendees were also invited to explore current exhibitions at the museum, including Carrie Mae Weems: Painting the Town and American Photography—further deepening the day’s discussions on representation, race, and the politics of the image.

As photography continues to navigate new terrains—technological, ethical, and epistemological—events like Future Memories offer critical space to question, remember, and imagine. We’re proud to have been part of this important conversation and extend our thanks to the Rijksmuseum for hosting a gathering that champions reflection, responsibility, and care in visual storytelling.

This event was made possible through the support of the Vincent Mentzel Foundation.

4 June 2025