Founded in 1983, FotoFest created the first international biennial of photography and photo-related art in the United States, held biennially since 1986. Speakers at the conference include lead curator Karin Adrian von Roques; FotoFest artistic director Wendy Watriss; Ussama Makdisi, Rice University; Maya El Khalil, Athr Gallery; Stephen Stapleton, Edge of Arabia; Salwa Mikdadi, NYU Abu Dhabi; and others.

Biennial artists featured in the conference include Rula Halawani, Ahmed Jadallah, Huda Lutfi, Ahmed Mater, Samer Mohdad, Steve Sabellah and others.

Morning schedule

• Introduction/Welcome
• FotoFest 2014 Biennial - "View from the Inside"
• Curatorial Overview: The Exhibitions and Forums
• What is the Arab World?
• Art and Culture in the Arab Worlds: Historical Overview and Art in the Arab World Today
• History of Photography in the Arab World
• From Palestine to Berlin: Making Contemporary Art between Cultures
• Occidentalism–Orientalism, From Colonialism to Facebook

Afternoon schedule

• Roundtable: "From the Grassroots to the World Stage: Photography in Saudi Arabia," presented with Edge of Arabia
• A Changing World, The Role of the Artist
• Roundtable: "Gender in the Photographic Arts, Middle East and North Africa"
• Mixing Media—From Photography to Video and Social Media
• Roundtable: "Looking at the Future—Viewpoints"

A reception to meet some of the speakers and artists, with a book signing, follows.