FotoFocus makes it a point to look at Cincinnati — and the world at large — through different lenses. On Oct. 4, the organization will host its all-day Fall Symposium, Photo-Economics, at Lightborne Studios.
FotoFocus’ symposiums occur during the off years of its trademark biennial. These events convene experts spanning a variety of disciplines and backgrounds to explore a given topic and its place in the broader sphere of lens-based arts. This year’s iteration will center on the industrial history of photography, and the role photography plays “in the shaping of social narratives.”
“Every Biennial theme, every Symposium theme is very much about photography, but it’s also about something that’s very current in the world,” FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator Kevin Moore explains.
According to Moore, Photo-Economics explores the broader topic of resources via two themes: material economics and social economics. The former denotes the physical materials used in the practice and creation of photography, from silver to materials found in modern smartphones, while the latter constitutes the actual documentation of resource extraction and its human repercussions across time.
The material economics portion of the event will take place during the morning session, and the social economics portion will take place in the afternoon.
”In the morning session, they’re teaching people kind of to think about, you know — we take photography, like so many things, we take it for granted,” Moore says. “You don’t really think about what it’s made of? Where does that come from? Who produces it?”
“In the afternoon, there’ll be a very interesting series of conversations about people’s lives in relation to these phenomena.”
FotoFocus was founded in 2010 with a mission “to present and support photography and lens-based projects that are accessible, enriching and engaging to a diverse public.” FotoFocus may remain fresh in Cincinnatians’ minds for its 2024 backstories Biennial, and it’s this and other events that Moore sees as carrying on founder Tom Schiff’s endeavor to “create a democratic idea of photography programs around town.”
“We have the Biennial, which is a kind of very democratic festival of photography,” Moore says. “We fund lots of people and support them to do art projects. But then we also — I feel like I’m also kind of in the tower, in the sense that we bring very high-level artists and exhibitions to Cincinnati too. So I like to think of it as very kind of like boots on the ground, but also, like, beacon in the sky.”
“We have this structure that sort of transmits between very high-level kind of international things, but also supports very local artists and institutions.”
Indeed, this year’s Symposium will bring in experts representing Princeton University, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and more. Speakers and panelists include professors, museum professionals, photographers and researchers.
For example, in the morning, Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Bon will discuss her involvement in a project that explores mines from which silver used in Kodak photo paper was sourced. A conversation between Museum of Modern Art photography conservator Lee Ann Daffner and photographer Alison Rossiter will focus on all things paper.
In the post-lunch hours, attendees can hear critic and researcher Danielle Jackson, who is currently based in the Bronx, New York, speak about her current focus on the ramifications of the oil boom in ‘70s Tulsa, Oklahoma. Arizona State University Professor Benjamin Young will moderate a panel on key photography scholar Allan Sekula, and photographer Katy Grannan will give a talk on some of her work from California.
Following a keynote conversation between photographer Mitch Epstein and New York University Professor Robert Slifkin, the Symposium will culminate with an evening reception featuring music by the Red Cedars, made up of Patrick Kennedy and Dinah Devoto, both Kentucky natives. According to Moore, this performance also ties into event themes — the duo’s “Mountain That Eats Men” is a song about mining.
Moore stresses that the event, which is free to attend at any point throughout the day, is meant for everyone. He encourages the featured experts to approach their presentations like “a dinner party” instead of an academic lecture.
“This is a place where I’ve been able to kind of cultivate this culture of people thinking about history and the world we live in an unintimidating and hopefully entertaining or pleasurable way,” Moore says.
Moore likewise emphasizes that contemporary relevance is a key component of the experiences he and FotoFocus curate, regardless of the precise subject matter or its historical context.
“ I’m hoping that throughout the day, the audience will feel like they have a history lesson, but a tool set, for thinking about the world we’re in now.”
The FotoFocus Photo-Economics Symposium takes place at Lightborne Studios on Oct. 4 at 9 a.m. More info: fotofocus.org.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Sept. 17 print edition.
This article appears in Sept. 17-30.