With daily life increasingly being experienced through digital mediation—be it a screen in our pocket, at our desk, or in public spaces—staying connected to primary and site-specific encounters has taken on added significance. The trend for so long has seemingly been to make everything and anything virtual, with culture, the arts and specifically photography being swept up along the way.
New forms of digital technology have transformed the common conception of what photography is and can do—from something made by artists and industry professionals to something everyone does each and every day. In the not-too-distant past, photographs made for the purposes of journalism and the daily news cycle could be presented to the public as documentary records of events. Though not without bias, the fact of their having been made in the time and place that a caption indicated was taken for granted and seldom challenged, thus allowing for public discourse to form around what the images purported to show and the narrative persuasion carried therein. Now, with the advent of generative A.I. and the ease with which images can be tailor made to reflect any belief or agenda, the power of photography to organize or stimulate discourse has truly begun to erode.
Challenging the emergence of a new status quo, of a new common sense (or is it common doubt?) surrounding the efficacy of photography is more important than ever. Doing this socially, or as part of a community, strikes me as being more effective than making the attempt virtually, as one more voice in the bottomless pool of online discourse. At FotoFocus, the opening of FotoFocus Center, our new purpose-built space, allows us to bring people together under one roof to discuss photography and its impact on the world in which we live. Building upon our years of experience convening panels, creating exhibitions, and planning events bringing together many of the leading practitioners and thinkers from the world of photography, we are now better suited than ever before to engage with the changing conditions of our time and to affirm the importance of experiencing art in person and doing so with a community that is local in its roots and international in spirit.
We understand that the true value of art often resides in its ability to bring people together into productive dialogue, something that seems as urgent as it ever has been when considered in light of the increasing atomization of social life. In 2019, FotoFocus hosted its annual symposium under the theme Auto Update, addressing technology’s impact on photography. Beginning with Fred Ritchin reflecting on the continued relevance of his 1990 publication, In Our Own Image: The Coming Revolution in Photography, the series of talks brought into focus the new possibilities—both positive and ominous—that technology might bring to image making. The talks were reinforced by an enthralling and sobering keynote address from Trevor Paglen, who, due to the nature of his work, did not allow for this lecture to be documented, thus making it an exchange of ideas contained with that room and to that audience.
Through a partnership with CreativeTime in 2023, FotoFocus hosted “The Convening,” a series of talks focused on histories and memories as integral interpretations of place and home that was made stronger by the shared community that congregated together. No recording—even though we tried—can speak to the physical experience of an enveloping sound performance by Guillermo Galindo, who utilized “sonic cyber totemic healing objects”—found objects left by immigrants at the United States/Mexico border—to compose the sonic bath. And it is through visiting a place and experiencing unique encounters that creative thoughts and collaboration flourish. When FotoFocus invited southwest artist and muralist Chip Thomas (a.k.a. jetsonorama) to present a solo exhibition during the 2024 Biennial, Thomas was struck by the rich history of murals within Cincinnati. The resulting commissioned mural by Thomas in conjunction with the exhibition honored a local muralist of the West End: a project that would not have occurred without Thomas’ visits to the region to experience the depth of Cincinnati’s arts culture where his work resonated.
Looking towards this fall, with the eighth iteration of the Biennial launching in October, our investment in a physical space will redefine our engagement with the region during this ambitious undertaking. At FotoFocus Center, we can ground the Biennial in a specific locale while amplifying the network of partner venues throughout Greater Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. The largest of its kind in North America, this distinction is achieved through the Biennial’s unique structure not of localized, site-specific commissions, but rather as a regional invitation to organizations that bring in photography and lens-based art from around the world. Such a discursive approach opens our programming outward to the broader community we are part of and with whom we strive to engage with throughout each year.
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