Open for Business: Magnum Photographers on Commission Foam Photography Museum Amsterdam

For over 75 years, the photographers of Magnum Photos have not only created photographic icons on both major events and hidden stories, but have simultaneously worked on commission. The exhibition Open for Business - Magnum Photographers on Commission shows a side of Magnum that the general public is hardly aware of, and with which its photographers rarely promote themselves. In eight... Show more

For over 75 years, the photographers of Magnum Photos have not only created photographic icons on both major events and hidden stories, but have simultaneously worked on commission. The exhibition Open for Business - Magnum Photographers on Commission shows a side of Magnum that the general public is hardly aware of, and with which its photographers rarely promote themselves. In eight chapters, travel with the artists on a variety of commercial assignments: from carte blanche group assignments for governments to the hippest fashion photography; and from chic publications for major industries to reporting in the service of NGOs.

The exhibition aims to unveil an interesting and lesser-known aspect of Magnum photographers’ portfolios and, in so doing, the reality of a career in photography: Open For Business exposes the true nature of the job, which comes with assignments that highlight the qualities of Magnum’s visual storytellers in completely different ways.