Desiree Vroemen worked for several years as a photojournalist and teacher and served since 2000 as Director Fotovakschool Amsterdam prior to being named Director of the FOTOfactory in 2004. Since 1991, she is responsible for photo lessons for all kinds of organisations and at all kinds of levels. From youth centres and psychiatric establishments to the ACF in Amsterdam, and now the FOTOfactory in Amsterdam. She regularly does portfolio reviews, gives lectures or works as a curator. Desiree Vroemen directed the development of the FOTOfactory towards a well respected Institute, by selecting an excellent staff en creating a solid curriculum. Innovation, quality and personal contact with the students are always key elements in her work.

They say home is where the heart is. It’s safely to say Elza Jo (Born 1981, in Amsterdam where she lives and works, graduated 2004 at the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague), agrees on that.
As a photographer and filmmaker, she likes keeping it all in her own little backyard. Literally. She allows the viewer to take a peek in her personal surroundings. Now she also made her first documentary.
Elza Jo spent three years together with Jolene, an Amsterdam girl who lives off chaos and adrenaline, but makes an impressive change in her live. Jolene premieres on cinema February 2018 and will be aired on BNNVARA April 23, 2100 h NPO2. The documentary is a co-production from HALAL docs and BNNVARA made possible with the support from CoBO and the Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst.

Karijn Kakebeeke (1974) is a documentary photographer. She combines her own projects with work on assignment. Her work focuses on how the smaller story and the larger picture are related. Her topics are political in nature. Her translation of these topics on the other hand, will depict the daily life of the ordinary man. In 2009 she won the important BMW-Paris Photo Prize for contemporary photography. From the jury report: “The Dutch photographer is pursuing her continuing interest in social issues through her photojournalistic, essayistic images. In this context, she captures pictures that stand as magnificent icons of our time.” Her work is published in magazines and newspapers in the Netherlands and abroad.

Zhenia Sveshinsky is a freelance curator and researcher working primarily, but not exclusively in the field of photography. Under the imprint of Image Matter she collaborated on various shows with foundation Paradox, co-curated a co-produced exhibition on Dutch photobooks Undercover -and a series of workshops and seminars on Dutch photographic practices for foundation FotoDepartament, St. Petersburg. She is currently the head of Unseen Book Market at Unseen Photography Fair & Festival Amsterdam.

Erik Vroons (1976, The Netherlands) holds an MA in Media Studies/University of Amsterdam and an MA in Photographic Studies/University Leiden. Since 2012, he teaches 2nd and 3rd year students at the Fotofactory. He was the the Chief Editor of international photography magazine GUP from 2010-2014 and now works as Editor-at-Large for both GUP and NewDawn, a bimonthly freezine on contemporary photography in The Netherlands. He is also a freelance consultant, writer and curator in the field of photography.

Mounir Raji is a young talented photographer who started his carrier as an assistant for Ruud Baan, Marc de Groot and Bart Oomes.
In 2013 he became one of the photographers from the House of Orange.
Since 2015 he is one of the photographers represented by Visionary Agency. His intriguing portraits and excellent use of light is one of his signatures.
Mounir studied photography at the FOTOfactory.

Bram Spaan’s still life photography lie in that fine balance of science and art, whereby his technical ability serves as an asset to his creative concepts. His international advertising work has enhanced campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Scotch and Soda, Absolut Vodka, Bols, Nike, G-Star and others. Nationally Brams photography have been published in Dutch Magazines as Harper’s Bazaar, Vice Magazine and GUP magazine. In between commercial projects Bram is dedicated to creating and expanding his personal work. His work has been exhibited at GUP gallery, BARTER Foamlab, Kallenbach x Gup at UNSEEN and some other. Bram Spaan lives with his wife and newborn son in Amsterdam.

Daria Tuminas (1984, RU) is a freelance researcher, photographer, and a curator.

In 2011, Tuminas graduated from Leiden University’s MA program Film and Photographic Studies with a thesis questioning narrative in photography. In 2012-2014, she was co-organizing (with Zhenia Sveshinsky) a yearly program 'Dutch Photography Experience' which included a series of educational events in St. Petersburg as well as an exhibition on Dutch photobooks 'Undercover' at the Museum of Contemporary art. The show got a silver prize at European Design Award. In 2014 Daria continued with the next photobook related project – 'Reading a Photobook', taking place at the Gallery of Printing in St. Petersburg and consisting of an exhibition, an educational program and a competition on photobook review writing. At the moment, Tuminas collaborates with a group of researchers and makers, and FW: books on creating a new platform for discussing photographic medium ‘Conversations on Photography’. Daria also teaches at the FOTOfactory, works at Johan Deumens Gallery, and occasionally writes about photography for several media.

Peter-Frank Heuseveldt (1974), after attending school for TV journalism, worked for children’s programs, the music industry for a pop act, and doing research for artists. He was introduced to fashion photography by his former roommate. Since then he has worked for photo agencies as a producer/booker and a talent spotter. His current work allows him to pursue his passion of supporting photographers by helping them develop their identity/signature, which is key to telling their visual stories. Working in all aspects of photography; client, producer, and artist side, he excels in his ability to work behind the scenes, bringing a practical approach to the process. Currently he is largely focusing on expo’s and gallery shows, while working with such visual talents as Viviane Sassen and Lernert & Sander.

Isabella Rozendaal (1983) is a documentary photographer. Since graduating from the KABK in 2007, she published several photo books. In her work, themes like our place in nature and the modern world are captured in images that are both humorous and tragic: her work is driven by contrast. Despite the provocative nature of her images, she always tries to tell a nuanced story by approaching her subjects from multiple perspectives. Aside from her personal work, she creates commissioned work for a wide range of editorial and commercial clients.