Biennial Program
The 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Program features an Opening Weekend Program with tours, talks, receptions, and a Symposium. The Program includes early events and additional programming throughout the month of October across Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky. The Biennial Program is free with Passport.
September 26, Thursday
Cincinnati Art Museum
| 5–8pm | Members Opening Reception & Curators Talk for Discovering Ansel Adams |
| 5pm | Members Opening Reception |
| 7pm | Curators Talk with Nathaniel Stein, Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, and Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ |
September 27, Friday
Contemporary Arts Center
| 1–2pm | Artist Tour of Chip Thomas and the Painted Desert Project Gallery Tour of Chip Thomas and the Painted Desert Project with Artist Chip Thomas, Flagstaff, AZ, and Kevin Moore, FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator, New York, NY |
Art Academy of Cincinnati: SITE1212
| 4–8pm | Preview Tour & Opening Reception for Digressions, Humphrey Gets His Flowers & Another First Impression Preview Tour of Digressions with Artists Joshua Berg, Covington, KY, and Mark Albain, Cincinnati, OH; Humphrey Gets His Flowers with Artist Michael Coppage, Cincinnati, OH; and Another First Impression with Curator Asa Featherstone IV, Cincinnati, OH. Opening Reception to follow |
Contemporary Arts Center
| 7–10pm | Artist Talk for Barbara Probst: Subjective Evidence & Public Reception for Subjective Evidence and Chip Thomas and the Painted Desert Project |
| 7pm | Conversation with Artist Barbara Probst, New York, NY and Munich, Germany; and Kevin Moore, FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator, New York, NY |
| 8pm | Public Reception for Barbara Probst: Subjective Evidence and Chip Thomas and the Painted Desert Project |
September 28, Saturday
The Carnegie
| 10:30–11:30am | Curator Tour of Southern Democratic Gallery Tour of Southern Democratic with Curator Phillip March Jones, Founder at Institute 193 in Lexington, KY and Owner of MARCH, New York, NY |
Memorial Hall
| Noon–5pm | Biennial Symposium The FotoFocus Symposium is designed to bring together Participants to discuss the backstories theme and its relationship to lens-based art and the world today. These conversations foster timely and in-depth dialogue around art in the current social and political climate. |
| Noon | Light Bites |
| 1pm | Memory Fields Conversation Sso-Rha Kang, Curator of Memory Fields, Curator at The Carnegie, Cincinnati, OH and Artist Jesse Ly, Dayton, OH |
| 1:30pm | Chip Thomas and the Painted Desert Project Panel Moderated by Kevin Moore, FotoFocus Artist Director and Curator, New York, NY; with panelists Chip Thomas, Artist, Flagstaff, AZ; Ken Ogawa, Maker/Artist, Columbia, MO; and Sunny Dooley, Diné Hozhojii Teller, Creator, and Poet, Diné Nation, NM |
| 2:30pm | Southern Democratic Spotlight with Filmmaker Michael Almereyda, New York, NY |
| 3pm | Ming Smith Conversation Ming Smith, Artist, New York, NY and Daisy Desrosiers, David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation Director and Chief Curator at The Gund, Kenyon College, Mount Vernon, OH |
| 4pm | backstories Keynote Lecture Kathy Ryan, former Director of Photography at The New York Times Magazine, New York, NY |
Additional Biennial Program
September 18, Wednesday
Columbus Museum of Art
| 5–8pm | Members Opening Reception & Curator Talk for Ming Smith: Transcendence and August Moon |
| 5pm | Members Opening Reception |
| 6pm | Curator Talk with Brooke A. Minto, Executive Director and CEO at the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, for Ming Smith: Transcendence and August Moon |
September 20, Friday
Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Gallery
| 6–8pm | Opening Reception for Memory Fields and Rachael Banks: The Trail of the Dead Public Reception for Memory Fields and Rachael Banks: The Trail of the Dead |
Wexner Center for the Arts
| 6:30–9:30pm | Opening Reception & Artist Talk for Ming Smith: Wind Chime and Rotimi Fani-Kayode: Tranquility of Communion |
| 5pm | Public Opening Reception |
| 5:30pm | Conversation with Artist Ming Smith, New York, NY; and Curator Mark Sealy, Director of Autograph, London, UK; moderated by Yasmina Price, New York-based Curatorial Assistant at Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH |
September 21, Saturday
Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Gallery
| 2pm | Curator Talk for Memory Fields Talk with Memory Fields Curator Sso-Rha Kang, Curator at The Carnegie, Cincinnati, OH |
October 4, Friday
Wave Pool
| 7–10pm | Bus Tours & Reception for Artist Run Performative bus tours visit a selection of pivotal spaces from Cincinnati’s history of DIY artist-run spaces and feature interview clips from artists and curators. RSVP required. |
| 7pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
| 8pm | Public Reception |
| 9pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
October 5, Saturday
Wave Pool
| 7–10pm | Bus Tours & Reception for Artist Run Performative bus tours visit a selection of pivotal spaces from Cincinnati’s history of DIY artist-run spaces and feature interview clips from artists and curators. RSVP required. |
| 7pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
| 8pm | Public Reception |
| 9pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Gallery
| 2pm | Artist Talk for Rachael Banks: The Trail of the Dead Talk with Artist Rachael Banks, Newport, KY, for The Trail of the Dead |
October 10, Thursday
The Sawyer Point Building
| 6–8pm | Performance & Reception for More than Meets the Eye Performance by Summermusik String Quartet, walking tour, and art highlighting the stories of immigrants in Greater Cincinnati |
October 11, Friday
Wave Pool
| 7–10pm | Bus Tours & Reception for Artist Run Performative bus tours visit a selection of pivotal spaces from Cincinnati’s history of DIY artist-run spaces and feature interview clips from artists and curators. RSVP required. |
| 7pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
| 8pm | Public Reception |
| 9pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
October 12, Friday
Wave Pool
| 7–10pm | Bus Tours & Reception for Artist Run Performative bus tours visit a selection of pivotal spaces from Cincinnati’s history of DIY artist-run spaces and feature interview clips from artists and curators. RSVP required. |
| 7pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
| 8pm | Public Reception |
| 9pm | Bus Tour for Artist Run: The Continuing Legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist-run Spaces |
October 24, Thursday
Wexner Center for the Arts
| 9am–7pm | Lambert Photography Symposium & Lambert Family Lecture A two-day symposium, highlighting the exhibitions of work from Ming Smith and Rotimi Fani-Kayode. The Wex brings together thinkers, scholars, the general public, and artists for panel conversations, in-gallery engagements, meals and social opportunities, and a keynote lecture. |
| 9am–4:30pm | Lambert Photography Symposium |
| 4:30–6pm | Reception |
| 6pm | Lambert Family Lecture: Dawoud Bey |
October 25, Friday
Wexner Center for the Arts
| 9:30am–1:30pm | Lambert Photography Symposium |
Neighborhood Spotlight Weekends
Neighborhood Spotlight Weekends highlight FotoFocus Participating Venues within specific geographic locations where artists and curators will be on site for talks, tours, special events, and featured programming. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of the FotoFocus Biennial, exploring art within the communities that create and present it.
Bus Tours
Exclusive Passport Bus Tours from Cincinnati travel to Neighborhood Spotlights for a programmed itinerary of talks and tours at Participating Venues. These events have limited space available and RSVPs are required.
Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6
Columbus Spotlight Weekend & Bus Tour
| Oct 5 | Columbus Bus Tour |
Friday, October 11–Sunday, October 13
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Spotlight Weekend & Bus Tour
| Oct 12 | Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Bus Tour |
Friday, October 25–Sunday, October 27
Dayton Spotlight Weekend & Bus Tour
| Oct 26 | Dayton Bus Tour |