Gallery Mercatorplein is a recurring photo exhibition in the public space. This edition features the latest project of Ahmet Polat.

The project Postcards from Morocco tells the stories of Moroccan Amsterdammers and mirrors them with the stories of those who stayed behind, in Morocco. This year marks 50 years since the Netherlands and Morocco signed a recruitment treaty, which made Moroccan labour migration to the Netherlands officially possible. Ahmet Polat initiated the Postcard from Morocco project to shine a light on the major impact of the treaty on the societies and cultures of both countries.

Postcards from Morocco has been produced in Amsterdam and Morocco, in collaboration with Shelley Lashley and Studio Polat. Migration is an important and recurring topic for Amsterdam, influencing the city's stratification and complexity. While Amsterdam is already welcoming a new generation of migrants, an older group is asking for attention and is still seeking its place in the city's collective memory. Ahmet Polat wants to visualise, share and discuss these questions in collaboration with Foam in order to gradually aid social cohesion.

Talkshow Postcards from Morocco
On Friday evening 25 October, Ahmet Polat hosts a talkshow at Podium Mozaïek in light of his project Postcards from Morocco. During this evening he will be joined by journalist Salma Chafouk Idrissi, artistic Director of Foam Marcel Feil, and the subjects of his portraits as they discuss imagining and representation of the "other". You can sign up on the site of Podium Mozaïek. 

ABOUT AHMET POLAT
Ahmet Polat (1978) is a Dutch photographer and filmmaker. With series such as Kemal's Dream, Dark Moon and A Woman in a Men's World, Ahmet Polat has established himself as a connecting storyteller. Through his photography and fieldwork, Polat wants to build bridges between different cultures, identities and history. After having lived and worked in Istanbul for ten years, he returned to the Netherlands in 2015 and the same year was named Photographer des Vaderlands.

ABOUT GALLERY MERCATORPLEIN
Foam and Amsterdam-West district have been working together for years in realising several exhibitions at Mercatorplein. With Gallery Mercatorplein Foam contributes to the goal of Amsterdam-West to shape Mercatorplein as the living room of the De Baarsjes neighbourhood. Foam regularly shows photography outside its walls with exhibitions on location to introduce photography to the widest possible audience.


Gallery Mercatorplein is made possible thanks to City of Amsterdam, District West.

Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, City of Amsterdam, Foam Members, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.