The Lens

With FotoFocus in a non-Biennial year, you may be wondering how you can get your fix of lens-based shows. The good news? There are several exhibitions in the region you won't want to miss this summer—listed in order of closing date.

Ecologies of Elsewhere, CAC

This group show is curated by Dr. Chandra Frank, an independent curator and Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati, and Dr. Portia Malatjie, Senior Lecturer in Visual Cultures at the University of... Continue reading Lens-Based Shows To See This Summer

With over three decades of experience at The Cincinnati Post and an accomplished career as an independent artist, photographer Melvin Grier (Cincinnati, OH) will open an exhibition at the Weston Art Gallery that serves as an expansive catalog of works that showcase his photographic journey. It Was Always About the Work is on view at the Weston Art Gallery from June 16–August 20, 2023.

The idea of fall arts seasons may feel like a hazy dream from another lifetime, but take heart, dear Queen City: There are several exhibitions in the region you won't want to miss this fall — listed in order of closing date.

RESIDUE, The Carnegie

A group show curated by Maria Seda Reeder, RESIDUE considers the relationship between art and audience — and how that engagement intertwines with, and changes, the work. Or in their words: "While artists act to create... Continue reading Four Lens-Based Shows To See This Fall

Opening May 15, Weston Art Gallery exhibits Material Message: Photographs of Fabric.

We’re surrounded by it, but we hardly give it a second thought: Fabric literally covers our bodies and homes, and it can change, represent, and even help create our identities. To explore this relationship, the Weston Art Gallery is showing photographs and other works, curated by Mount Vernon–based photographer Marcella Hackbardt, beginning May 15. The exhibition title, Material Message, hints at the show’s thesis: That fabric communicates meaning in... Continue reading The Fabric of our Lives

As FotoFocus celebrates its first decade, we get the behind-the-scenes scoop of how it started—and what the future holds—from eight people who have lived it.

I. Origin Story

TOM SCHIFF, Founder, FotoFocus and CEO, Lightborne: The idea started maybe 12 years ago or so with James Crump, who was the curator of photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum. I mentioned to him that I thought there were never enough photography exhibits in Cincinnati. I thought, If we could have a... Continue reading FotoFocus at 10: An Oral History