Tina Farifteh photographs asylum at the Rijksmuseum

Exhibition

The central figure in her exhibition is a man identified only by his initial: B. Following more than four months in immigration detention at Schiphol Airport and a stay in Ter Apel asylum reception centre, B. is now in the midst of an asylum procedure. By positioning him as the narrator, she reverses the gaze on our asylum procedures: Instead of talking about asylum seekers, she literally has us listen to one of them. In doing so, Farifteh holds up a mirror to the visitor. This exhibition is not about ‘them,’ but us.

Tina Farifteh

Tina Farifteh is a photographer, filmmaker and visual artist whose work explores the impact of power structures on the lives of ordinary people. Her earlier works include the audiovisual installation The Flood (2021) and the short documentary Kitten or Refugee? (2023), for which she won the 2024 Silver Camera for Storytelling.

Document Nederland Junior

Alongside Document Nederland, the Rijksmuseum’s photography gallery is presenting Document Nederland Junior, the annual photographic competition and display for students in secondary and vocational education. The competition shares its theme with the main commission. For each edition, ten young photographers are selected to take part in a masterclass, given this year by Tina Farifteh and experts from the Rijksmuseum. Their photographs will be on display in the second room of the photography gallery.

50 years of Document Nederland

The Rijksmuseum has been awarding the annual Document Nederland photography commission since 1975. Each year, a theme is selected for the commission that is relevant, emblematic and significant for society.

Thanks

The exhibition is made possible in part by the Floor Fund/Rijksmuseum Fund, the Familie Van Ogtrop Fund/Rijksmuseum Fund and Rijksmuseum NEXT.