FOTOFOCUS, a nonprofit arts organization, champions the ubiquity of photography and its important role in contemporary culture.
FOTOFOCUS recaptures the spirit of Cincinnati’s legacy as an epicenter of art production and creative exchange, and seeks to revitalize that spirit for the 21st century. Acting as a catalyst for institutional collaboration and community engagement, FOTOFOCUS organizes a month-long biennial celebration spotlighting independently programmed exhibitions of historical and contemporary photography and lens-based art.
Launching in October 2012, the FotoFocus biennial presents an unprecedented opportunity to learn about and experience the diverse currents of photography. FOTOFOCUS brings together museums, galleries, and universities showcasing world-renowned artists and national and regional standouts. Pop-up venues, community art centers, and other grass roots organizations explore current trends in photography with exhibitions featuring the work of emerging talents and students.
Distinguished by a curatorial mandate set forth in inaugural meetings with the region’s major art institutions and professionals, FOTOFOCUS is co-chaired by James Crump, Chief Curator and Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and Raphaela Platow, Alice and Harris Weston Director and Chief Curator of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. FOTOFOCUS is a concept long envisioned by Thomas R. Schiff, a photographer and lifelong champion of the medium and an advocate for institutional alliances, as exemplified by the FOTOFOCUS Lecture and Visiting Artist Series.
30+ Days | 50+ Venues | 500+ Artists
Notable
Friday, October 26, 7:00 PM at the Cincinnati Art Museum
Photographer Alec Soth and publisher and gallerist Darius Himes will give a public talk moderated by James Crump, Chief Curator and Curator of Photography, Cincinnati Art Museum.
Darius Himes is co-founder of Radius Books, a nonprofit company publishing books on the visual arts, a founding editor of Photo-Eye Booklist, and assistant director of San Francisco’s Fraenkel Gallery. A lecturer, consultant, and writer Hines has contributed to numerous publications. He is co-author with Mary Virginia Swanson of PUBLISH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK (Princeton Architectural Press 2011), publishyourphotographybook.com.
Born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Alec Soth's (b. 1969) obsession with loneliness and isolation finds him traveling the world, one eye fixed on the interior landscapes of his subjects, the other on the often bleak physical surroundings they inhabit. From a barren dirt road in Georgia to a deserted parking lot at a suburban office park, Soth’s singular vision eludes categorization. He first drew the attention of the art world with SLEEPING BY THE MISSISSIPPI, published by Steidl in 2004 His photographs have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the Whitney and São Paulo Biennials, the Jeu de Paume in Paris, Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland, and a 2010 retrospective at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Other publications include NIAGARA (2006), FASHION MAGAZINE (2007) DOG DAYS, BOGOTÁ (2007) THE LAST DAYS OF W (2008), and BROKEN MANUAL (2010). In 2008, Soth launched his own publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom. He is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis, and is a member of Magnum Photos.