Lessons from Departure: Exhibition by Nathan Samuel at the Opening of the Academic Year

On Tuesday, 8 September 2026, at 18:00, the Foundation Academy of Amsterdam will celebrate the opening of the academic year 2026–2027 together with our annual Graduation Ceremony.

This year’s gathering will bring together education, art, migration, memory, and social engagement.

As part of the evening, we are honored to present the work of British artist Nathan Samuel, created in collaboration with the Foundation Academy of Amsterdam. His project, Lessons from Departure: After Arrival, explores experiences of migration, displacement, arrival, belonging, and the ways in which people rebuild their lives after crossing geographical and personal borders. Through portraiture, testimony, and visual storytelling, Nathan Samuel gives attention not only to the act of departure, but particularly to what comes afterward: the often less visible process of finding a place, forming new relationships, negotiating identity, and creating a sense of home.

A selection of his artwork will be exhibited at the Foundation Academy of Amsterdam during the opening and graduation evening. Nathan Samuel will also be present to introduce the project and share more about the people, stories, and creative process behind the work.

The evening will also feature a keynote address by Bianca Groen Gallant, Director of NINSEE, who will reflect on themes of memory, history, responsibility, and their significance for our society today.

At the heart of the evening, we will celebrate our graduating students. Their graduation marks both an ending and a beginning: the completion of an important period of study and the beginning of a new chapter in which knowledge, theology, experience, and social responsibility are carried into the wider world.

The combination of graduation, Nathan Samuel’s art, and Bianca Groen Gallant’s keynote reflects something central to the vision of the Foundation Academy of Amsterdam: education does not take place in isolation. It is connected to people’s stories, histories, communities, and hopes for the future.

Tuesday, 8 September 202618:00 hrsFoundation Academy of Amsterdam

We warmly welcome our students, alumni, colleagues, partners, friends, and invited guests as we celebrate our graduates and open a new academic year together.

For more information about Nathan's work visit: https://nathansamuel.co.uk