2026 Biennial Opening Program and Biennial Pass Launch
Posted on August 25, 2026
FotoFocus is pleased to announce the Opening Program for the 2026 Biennial: The Long View, which will take place September 30–October 3 and establish the primary ideas and main themes that unite the entirety of the Biennial through the month of October. The largest of its kind in America, extending across museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces in Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky, the Biennial celebrates photography and lens-based art while bringing together artists, curators, and educators from around the world. The eighth edition of the Biennial, The Long View, features 74 exhibitions presented at 65 venues including the newly opened FotoFocus Center. Major solo presentations will feature work by Trevor Paglen, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Nancy Rexroth, and Widline Cadet.
FotoFocus is pleased to welcome Daniel Immerwahr, Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities and Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, as the Keynote Speaker for the Opening Program. A scholar of global history and U.S. foreign policy, Immerwahr is uniquely suited to speak on ‘the long view,’ the Biennial theme and a phrase used to invoke a broader perspective, one defined by distance and duration. Considering photography as a metaphor for the attempt to grasp one’s place within the durational sweep of history, The Long View acknowledges the semiquincentennial of the United States and encourages a posture of reflection in regards to the country’s history, its past, present, and future.
“FotoFocus is thrilled to kick off this year’s iteration of the Biennial with a stellar lineup of speakers and exhibitions,” said Katherine Ryckman Siegwarth, FotoFocus Executive Director. “Through the Biennial Pass, our Opening Program is free to the public, allowing us to celebrate photography in the broadest sense with our communities.”
“The United States is at a critical moment in its history and it is my hope that, through a broad spectrum of photography exhibitions and conversations, we can better understand where we are, where we have been, and where we are going as a nation and culture,” shared Kevin Moore, FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator.
Ambitious and critically engaging exhibitions will be presented at museums, galleries, schools and universities, theaters, nonprofit cultural centers, parks, hotels, and libraries, among other venues, including site-specific installations, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, public art projects, performances, and film screenings. For the complete list of projects, click here.
Opening Program
The Biennial Opening Program establishes the theme and dialogues that unite the broader programming. For the latest program schedule, click here.
Wednesday, September 30
The Carnegie
5–8pm Opening Reception for Natural Fictions
Thursday, October 1
Cincinnati Art Museum
5pm Reception for Nancy Rexroth: Secrets of My Power
6pm Lecture with Nathaniel M. Stein, Curator of Photography
7pm Book signing with Artist Nancy Rexroth, Cincinnati, OH
Friday, October 2
Contemporary Arts Center
5pm Gallery Tour of In the Interest of Time with Artists Elijah Howe, Felton, CA; Julie Renée Jones, Dayton, OH; Robyn Moore, Morehead, KY; Osamu James Nakagawa, Bloomington, IN; Jordanne Renner, Columbus, OH; Joseph Vitone, Austin, TX; Lynn Whitney, Waterville, OH; and Curator Theresa Bembnister, Cleveland, OH
Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery
6pm Reception for Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Compressed Tenses
Contemporary Arts Center
7pm Conversation with Widline Cadet: Seremoni Disparisyon (Ritual [Dis]Appearance) Curator Kristen Gaylord, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI; and Shelby M. Sinclair, Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
8pm Opening Reception for Widline Cadet: Seremoni Disparisyon (Ritual [Dis]Appearance) and In the Interest of Time
Saturday, October 3
Memorial Hall
12–6pm Artist Talks and Keynote Lecture
Noon Doors open. Light bites provided
1pm Natural Fictions
Conversation with Artists Joshua Berg,Covington, KY; Heesoo Kwon, Los Angeles, CA; and Phillip Maisel, San Francisco, CA; moderated by Curator Lindsay Albert, Program Manager, KADIST, San Francisco, CA
2pm Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Compressed Tenses
Conversation with Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Artist, Los Angeles, CA; and Carmen Winant, Artist and Roy Lichtenstein Chair of Studio Art at the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
3pm Nancy Rexroth: Secrets of My Power
Conversation with Curator Nathaniel M. Stein, Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, and Elizabeth Leitzell, Photographer and Short Filmmaker, Philadelphia, PA
4pm Trevor Paglen: the most merciful thing in the world
Performance by Trevor Paglen, Artist, New York, NY, and San Francisco, CA
5pm The Long View Keynote
Lecture by Daniel Immerwahr, Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
FotoFocus Center
6pm Reception for Trevor Paglen: the most merciful thing in the world
Neighborhood Spotlight Weekends
Neighborhood Spotlight Weekends highlight Biennial Venues within specific geographic locations where artists and curators will be on site for talks, tours, special events, and featured programming. Exclusive Pass Bus Tours travel to Neighborhood Spotlights on Saturdays for a programmed itinerary of events.
Dayton Spotlight Weekend
Friday, October 16–Sunday, October 18
Dayton Bus Tour: Saturday, October 17, 8am–7:15pm
Columbus Spotlight Weekend
Friday, October 23–Sunday, October 25
Columbus Bus Tour: Saturday, October 24, 9am–7pm
Cincinnati Spotlight Weekend
Friday, October 30–Sunday, November 1
Greater Cincinnati Bus Tour: Saturday, October 31, 8:30am–4:15pm
Additional events during each Spotlight Weekend can be found on the FotoFocus calendar.
FotoFocus Biennial Pass
The Biennial Pass offers free access to 70+ photography and lens-based exhibitions during the month of October with invitations to exclusive events, including entry into the Opening Program (September 30–October 3). The Opening Program establishes the core theme of the Biennial and features receptions, guided tours, talks, panel discussions, and a keynote lecture. Many venues and their events are free and open to the public; however, for those with admission fees, the Pass offers waived entry to Biennial exhibitions during the month of October.
As part of the Biennial Pass Program, FotoFocus also arranges free, round-trip bus tours from Cincinnati throughout the region to highlight select venues with artists and curators on site for talks, tours, and special events. Access is central to FotoFocus: the Biennial Pass is free thanks to generous donors, allowing thousands of attendees to be part of a community-wide celebration of photography.
FotoFocus is pleased to announce that the Biennial Pass Program is free and made possible by the generous support of William & Kate Baumann and Rob & Rachel Eckman.
The Biennial Pass is now available. Learn more and sign up here.