2024 FOTOFOCUS BIENNIAL: backstories

Biennial Opening Weekend Program: September 26–28, 2024

  • 01 FF CAC Barbara Probst 01 no124

    Barbara Probst, Exposure #124: Brooklyn, Industria Studios, 39 South 5th St, 04.13.17, 10:39 a.m., 2017. Courtesy of the artist

  • 02 FF CAC Chip Thomas 03 Lehigh on the tire swing

    Chip Thomas, Lehigh on the Tire Swing, 2013. Courtesy of the artist

  • 03 FP1 CAM Ansel Adams 01 Tetons and Snake River

    Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984), The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942. Gelatin silver print, image: 3915/16 x 511/4 inches (101.4 x 130.1 cm). Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Ansel Adams Archive, 76.562.2. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

  • tear 2 001

    Kanthy Peng, Artificial Tear, 2019. Archival inkjet print, 30 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist

  • 05 FP6 Carnegie Southern Democratic 04 Christof Beef and Reef

    Tag Christof, Colonial Kitchen #6, 2019. Archival inkjet print, 17 x 22 inches. Courtesy of the artist

  • 06 FP4 Wexner Rotimi Fani Kayode 03 Four Twins

    Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Four Twins, 1985. Gelatin silver print, 9 x 13⅞ inches. Courtesy of Autograph, ABP London

  • 07 FP3 Wexner Ming Smith 01 Dakar Roadside with Figures

    Ming Smith, Dakar Roadside with Figures, 1972. Archival pigment print, 24 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Ming Smith Studio

  • 08 FP5 CMA MS Transcendence 04 Smith Black Girl Dreaming

    Ming Smith, Black Girl Dreaming, 1990. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist

  • 10 FPC3 AAC Digressions 03 Berg Albain Page spread from Digressions 2024

    Left: Joshua Berg, Ludlow, KY, 2024. Archival inkjet print, 30 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist. Right: Mark Albain, Until The Real Thing Comes Along, 2018. Toner print, 11 x 8½ inches. Courtesy of the artist

  • 11 FPC1 AAC 3CDC Humphrey 01 Coppage Portrait

    Michael Coppage, Portrait of Humphrey Humpkick, 2023. Digital print, dimensions variable. Courtesy of Whitney Dixon

  • Mo Martin 1964 Ford Galaxy

    Da’shaunae Marisa, Classic Car Owners of Cleveland, 2021. Photograph from 120 film, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist

  • 13 FPC5 PPB More than Meets the Eye 04 86b5bb9c

    [Family Photograph]. Courtesy of Raj Mehta

  • 14 FPC4 BUS Artist Run 03 Neo Ancestralists

    [Members of Neo-Ancestralists (l–r: Thomas Phelps, Ken Leslie, Jimi Jones)], 1997. Photo by John Hunt

  • The Wedding

    Rachael Banks, The Wedding, 2017. Archival pigment print, 35 x 28 inches. Courtesy of the artist

An ambitious collaboration between FotoFocus and the region’s museums, galleries, universities, and non-traditional spaces, the FotoFocus Biennial is a month-long celebration of photography and lens-based art that unites artists, curators, and participants from around the world. Now in its seventh iteration, the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial encompasses 107 projects at 86 Participating Venues across Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky—the largest of its kind in America. This year’s Biennial presents 15 Featured Projects, including an international touring retrospective, a multi-venue celebration of an artist featuring a new commission, rare and never-before-seen photographic works, new research and insight to expand understandings of artists, and a Call for Entry Selection category, along with a wide range of original exhibitions, events, and projects, all centered around the theme of backstories. 

The 2024 Biennial theme, backstories, focuses on stories that are not evident at first glance. These stories offer context for what happened previously or out of view, providing narratives not yet told or presented from a new perspective. Yet once told, they shed light on current circumstances and events.

The 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Opening Weekend Program, September 26–28, 2024, constitutes the core of the Biennial, establishing the theme and dialogues that unite the broader programming. Featuring keynote lecture, talks and panel discussions with artists, curators, and collaborators, receptions and tours, the Biennial Program is designed to inspire conversations about the world through photography, film, and lens-based art. Additional Biennial programming for Featured Projects and Participating Venues continues throughout the month of October.

While many venues are free and open to the public, the Biennial Passport offers free access to special exhibitions during the month of October; invitations to members-only events; and entry into the FotoFocus Biennial Opening Program. The Passport is once again be free thanks to the generous support of Cummins Law LLC, Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, Amanda Louis and Dr. Louis B. Louis IV, and Betsy and Peter Niehoff.

Press Releases (PDF)

FotoFocus Announces 2024 Biennial Program and Opening Events
FotoFocus Announces Featured Projects for 2024 Biennial
FotoFocus Announces 2024 Biennial Theme

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available at select Opening Weekend Program events, sponsored by Ohio Humanities. For questions regarding accessibility accommodations during FotoFocus events, please email info@fotofocus.org. CART services have been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Ohio Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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