Creative Time and FotoFocus are pleased to announce their partnership for The Convening, a special series of public talks and performances in Cincinnati, featuring artists, critics, curators, and other distinguished guest speakers. A welcome event and performance will take place at Mecca OTR on Friday, October 20, 2023, followed by a full day of discussions held at two venues: the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Contemporary Arts Center, on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

Structured loosely around three earth-based thematics—land, waterways, and trees—The Convening will bring together national and local artists, activists, and thinkers whose work considers histories of land, particularly American histories that coalesce in the Cincinnati region. Through discussions, workshops, and performances, participants will explore issues of land sovereignty, access, and stewardship as well as the histories and enduring legacies of forced migration in the United States.

The Convening is the culmination of both organizations’ groundbreaking efforts to lead urgent discussions around art and politics. Since 2009, Creative Time has organized gatherings that address the most pressing issues of our times, from the Summit and In Situ, to the recent symposium, Moving Chains: Toward Abolition, which served as a platform to consider how freedom can be defined beyond the confines of property and ultimately questioned the compatibility of abolition and the law. Since 2015, FotoFocus has held annual symposiums addressing photography’s centrality to critical issues, such as culture wars, feminism, and the spread of disinformation through digital technologies. The Convening is a significant collaborative effort designed to discuss thinking about land-use and self-determination through contemporary art practices, including photography.

For full details and more information, see the official Press Release

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FotoFocus collaborates—locally, nationally, and internationally—to present and support photography and lens-based projects that are accessible, enriching, and engaging to a diverse public. FotoFocus inspires conversations about the world through the art of photography and film, via its partnerships and signature programming including the FotoFocus Biennial, FotoFocus Symposium, FotoFocus Talks Series, and Film and Video programming.

The Lens is the FotoFocus editorial platform, highlighting our programming and featuring in-depth conversations on photography and the moving image drawn from perspectives and insights in our community, throughout our region, and around the globe.