There are several events that highlight Cincinnati’s ever-expanding art scene. From BLINK to the Cindependent Film Festival, the Queen City consistently showcases why it’s one of the premier art towns in America. One of Cincinnati’s most popular art events is the FotoFocus Biennial, a series of events that highlights the art of photography both from around the country and locally.
FotoFocus is a nonprofit based in Cincinnati. The group was established in 2010 and focuses on supporting lens-based art through several events, programs and grants it awards to institutions supporting educational and presenting opportunities. According to their website, their mission statement is “to present and support photography and lens-based projects that are accessible, enriching, and engaging to a diverse public.”
The Biennial itself is a massive event. It spans a month, with the opening weekend happening Sept. 26-28. The series of events that make up the FotoFocus Biennial take place across 87 venues in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Northern Kentucky. These various venues will play host to 107 different projects. The sheer number of projects and venues makes this the biggest event in the history of the program.
Exhibitions in this year’s FotoFocus Biennial include Discovering Ansel Adams, a display of the early works of the famous photographer at the Cincinnati Art Museum where viewers will have a chance to dissect his images in a new light. Another exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center will showcase the work of photographer Chip Thomas and his attempt to document marginalized communities in Nothern Arizona.
All this to say that Greater Cincinnati is about to host one of the largest photography events in the country. Given the sheer magnitude of the FotoFocus Biennial, Katherine Ryckman Siegwarth, the nonprofit’s executive director, and Kevin Moore, the artistic director and curator at FotoFocus, sat down with CityBeat to explain what the Biennial is all about and what visitors can look forward to this year.
“It’s a way to bring high-quality exhibitions to Cincinnati,” Moore says of the FotoFocus Biennial. “We so far rely on host institutions like CAC (Contemporary Arts Center), the (Cincinnati) Art Museum and Taft (Theatre) for our own original programming, but it’s also a very democratic event in a sense that we fund over a hundred-plus organizations throughout the region to organize and present photography exhibitions as well.”
Some of the exhibitions being showcased during the Biennial feature some of photography’s most distinguished artists, including Ansel Adams, Chip Thomas and Barbara Probst. The Biennial will also showcase several Cincinnati photographers who submitted works through FotoFocus’ call for submissions, including Mark Albain, Racheal Banks and Asa Featherstone.
With so many different projects, artists and venues FotoFocus worked alongside a list of different curators to better manage the amount of time and manpower the Biennial requires. Siegwarth explained how the nonprofit was able to pull such a feat off.
“Well, Kevin and I are incredibly fortunate to work with incredible people,” Siegwarth says. “The FotoFocus team is about 10 in total so we’re a lean and mean team, but we have an incredibly attention-orientated, type A, Excel spreadsheet-type team. It also helps that this is our seventh iteration. We have a lot of repeat venues who know how this works and remain dedicated and excited so it gets a little easier each time.”
Despite the scope of the month-long showing, all of the exhibitions are brought together by one central theme: backstories. According to the FotoFocus website, the theme of backstories is summarized as, “referring to past experiences that may have happened out of view or gone unnoticed — histories that have not been told or have lacked perspective. These stories fill in the possible blanks, providing essential context for art and images.” Moore spoke more on the theme and how it played out in this year’s event.
“‘Backstories’ is a theme that relates to this idea of a single photograph as a complete story,” Moore says. “There’s so much more going on than that one instant, than that one photograph can sort of try and sum up a story, but I think we’ve also become aware that we need more context for most of what we see and hear.”
Moore also spoke about how a theme typically is a way to bring a large chaotic event together in a coherent way. Having this theme will ensure that guests who visit the multiple exhibitions will feel that sense of unity among the different showings. Siegwarth spoke to CityBeat about what guests can expect during this year’s FotoFocus Biennial.
“We do have our opening program weekend; that’s Sept. 26-28,” Siegwarth says. “That’s our way of celebrating and grounding the theme of the Biennial. We have several exhibition receptions and gallery tours. Kevin has worked on creating a symposium that we’re hosting on the 28th at Memorial Hall. That will have a lot of great speakers. Another aspect of the Biennial is we have a passport program. This is a way for people to participate and attend all of our 107 projects for free. Most of them are free to the public, some do have charges. If you sign up for our passport you receive invitations to all of our receptions and events — access to that opening program weekend and the ability to attend all venues for free during the month of October.” The 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Passport is free and can be accessed on FotoFocus’ website.
Siegwarth mentioned that FotoFocus will also be hosting a bus tour. This will give people a chance to be commuted to participating venues. This even includes the venues in far-off Columbus. You can learn more about the bus tours on the FotoFocus website, or visit artistruncincy.com/tour. Moore also stated that the artists themselves will be accessible to the public so that the audience can converse and mingle with those involved in the show. Although there are no formal meet and greets, Moore expects many featured artists to be there the day of their respective events and actively participate in open discussions about the pieces.
Siegwarth also encouraged people to simply show up for the Biennial to continue to support not just their nonprofit, but all the participating venues, artists and curators.
To learn more about the individual events and schedule of programs included in the FotoFocus Biennial, visit FotoFocus’ website.
“We do great shows. We do great events. They’re very engaging; they’re fun. It doesn’t feel like something you should do for cultural edification. It’s actually something entertaining, interesting and social.”
The FotoFocus Biennial runs from Sept. 26-Oct. 25 at various locations throughout Northern Kentucky and Ohio. More info: fotofocus.org.
This story is featured in CityBeat's Sept. 4 print edition.
