Photography Museums to Visit in Amsterdam

by HarryPrince,  17 November 2020
by Harry Prince, 17 November 2020
Photography Museums to Visit in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is home to over 75 museums with all sorts of unusual collections – you can find cats, fluorescent art, washed-up beach finds and microbes, to name a few!

What Amsterdam does really well is a photography museum. Read on to find out why they’re worth a visit for your next corporate event. 

Foam
Inside the Foam photography museum in Amsterdam
Foam Museum via Foam

Foam is on the beautiful Keizersgracht. Since opening in 2002, Amsterdam’s Foam photography museum has showcased some of the biggest names in the field, including Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt, Anton Corbijn, Alex Prager and Cy Twombly.

As you can imagine, Foam is all about showcasing and educating about photography. It also identifies as an international museum; both their exhibitions and the partners they collaborate with demonstrate their global portfolio.

The museum usually changes it’s exhibitions every 2-3 months. Keep up to date with Foam by subscribing to the award-winning Foam Magazine, which is published three times a year. The Foam is also worth visiting for its cafe and shop.

If you’re planning a meeting, workshop, product release, or a private dining event, you could even consider Foam as a venue. 

You can buy tickets for the photography museum here. It’s €12.50 for adults, €9.50 for students and children go free. It is free with an Amsterdam City Card, which is €65 for 24hrs, €85 for 48hrs and €105 for 72hrs.

Huis Marseille
Facade of the oldest photography museum in Amsterdam
Huis Marseille via Huismarseille

The Huis Marseille, also located on the Keizersgracht, was Amsterdam’s first photography museum. The building was completed in 1665 and can credit a stone plaque depicting Marseille’s harbour for its French name. 

Huis Marseille acknowledges that photography has achieved mass popularity in modern society. As an art form, it is continually changing, and their museum aims to be relevant to the spirit of the times. 

Marseille is an excellent example of an Amsterdam Exhibition. They change four times a year, so everything you see is cutting edge and representative of current activity in the field. 

You can buy tickets for the photography museum online or in person. It’s €9 for adults, €4.50 for students. Children go free. And like the Foam Museum, it’s free with an Amsterdam City Card.

Eye Filmmuseum
Eye Filmmuseum looked at from the IJ
Eye Filmmuseum © Iwan Baan

The Eye was founded in 2010 as a result of the merger between four organisations: the Filmmuseum, Holland Film, the Filmbank, and the Netherlands Institute for Film Education.

Eye Filmmuseum is the only Amsterdam museum for film and art of the moving image. The Eye collection contains more than 50,000 Dutch and international films, and a wide variety of posters, photographs, film equipment, books and personal archives. Count the celebrated UNESCO World Heritage Collection of film pioneer Jean Desmet among them.

Is it an eye, or a feather? The building was designed by the Viennese architectural firm Delugan Meissl Associates. It’s an intelligent use of Amsterdam’s limited space, with 1,200 sq. meters of exhibition space, beautiful lighting and a simple white modern finish. 

On the first floor, Eye Filmmuseum presents four different exhibitions a year. On the ground floor, you can discover the history of film with lots of cool interactive installations. 

Offering so much more than a great spot to catch a film, the Eye boasts a café and restaurant in a beautiful waterside setting. In the summertime, you can soak up more direct sunlight than anywhere else in the city.

The Eye Filmmuseum is in the Noord, which is over the Ij-Meer water. You can get there by ferry. The rides are every five minutes, and they’re free!

Tickets for films are €11, €9.50 for a student, €8 for an Eye Society Member, and €7.50 for Children 11 and under. For entrance to the exhibitions, it’s € 11, € 8.50 for students, and free for children and City Card holders. 

Wrapping up

Now you have an idea of what the photography museums in Amsterdam are all about. Maybe they could be the perfect spot if you’re planning a product launch or a photoshoot? Regardless, they’re definitely worth a visit once you get here. 

Featured image: Eye Film Museum cafe © Philip Cronerud

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