The largest lens-based art biennial in the United States, Cincinnati’s FotoFocus Biennial returns this month for its seventh edition with an ambitious program of exhibitions and projects staged at 86 venues across greater Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio, as well as Northern Kentucky. The 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Opening Weekend Program will take place September 26–28, 2024, and will continue throughout the month of October, offering an unmatched array of events and exhibitions, and marking the largest iteration of the biennial to date. Also returning this year is the popular Biennial Passport program, which provides free access to all biennial events—more than 100 programs and projects—as part of a greater initiative to make and keep the FotoFocus Biennial accessible to all.

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

The unifying thread to the comprehensive event is backstories, the overarching theme for 2024 FotoFocus. “The beauty of art is that it does not exist in a vacuum,” said FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator Kevin Moore. “The theme of backstories invites audiences to look beyond the surface of a work and consider the context and history of a piece. We hope that viewers explore the relationships between subject matter, photographer, and themselves.”

Understood as the heart of the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial, the Opening Weekend Program will establish and contextualize the backstories theme, and see programming ranging from keynote lectures and talks to receptions and tours, as well as panel discussions featuring artists, curators, and other collaborators. Featured events include artist talks with Ming Smith, Barbara Probst, and Chip Thomas, plus a keynote lecture by Kathy Ryan, the former Director of Photography at the New York Times Magazine.

Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Four Twins (1985). Courtesy of Autograph, ABP
London.

The 2024 edition also marks the debut of Call for Entry Selections, comprised of six projects produced by independent, regional creatives that, in turn, spotlight their practices. A new category of participation, FotoFocus invited curators and artists to propose projects—exhibitions, installations, screenings, performances, and more—with selections garnering up to $10,000 in production support. Through these presentations, the artistic milieu of the region will be brought to the fore within the biennial. Another important announced project is a forthcoming FotoFocus Center, which will open in the first half of next year, establishing the organization’s commitment to fostering and promoting both lens-based art as well as the local creative scene.

Xia Zhang, Safe In Unsafe (2016). Courtesy of the artist.

“It is our distinct privilege to partner with singular voices in bringing photography and lens-based art to Cincinnati,” said FotoFocus Executive Director Katherine Ryckman Siegwarth. “With this year’s Biennial being the largest yet, and the upcoming launch of the FotoFocus Center in spring 2025, this is an incredibly exciting time.”

The 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Opening Weekend Program will take place September 26–28, 2024, with additional programming throughout the month.