Maurice Boyer – at home in Amsterdam

From 16 December the exhibition ‘Maurice Boyer – at home in Amsterdam’ is on display at the Amsterdam Museum. These photos illustrating the themes of urban renewal and refugees give an impression of the work of urban photographer Boyer. The central question is, ‘Who does the city belong to?’. In the exhibition, Amsterdam plays an important role as it often forms the setting of Boyer's work. He retired last year after working four decades as a photojournalist. His clients included the NRC newspaper and the City of Amsterdam. He also won awards from the Zilveren Camera and World Press Photo.

The exhibition ‘Maurice Boyer – at home in Amsterdam’ consists of two parts. The first part focusses on one of his first assignments at the end of the 1970s: recording the demolition, renovation and new construction in various Amsterdam neighbourhoods like Staatsliedenbuurt, Spaarndammerbuurt and Dapperbuurt. This led to him ending up in the middle of the squatters' world and being present at their riots in Vondelstraat and during Queen Beatrix's coronation. The photos in the exhibition reveal a disconcerting view of Amsterdam in those days.

The exhibition also displays more recent work by Boyer, which focusses on the refugee issue. For the last year he has been following Syrian refugees who are being housed by Gastvrij Oost, a small-scale Amsterdam shelter initiative. Boyer documented their process of integration into society and was present at important moments like a wedding and family reunification. The exhibition can be viewed until 14 June 2017 and gives a probing insight into a changing Amsterdam, both now and 40 years ago.