The Ultimate Guide to FotoFest

The ultimate guide to FotoFest: 5 don't-miss events from Houston's international photo party

With six weeks of programming and more than 100 participating gallery spaces, the 2014 FotoFest Biennial offers art fans an ocean of outings and events.

CultureMap has combed though this year's jam-packed schedule of exhibits, lectures, films and more for the best and brightest happenings. Here's a quick rundown of five must-see events to get you started.

Opening night party (Saturday, 7 p.m., Spring Street Studios)

Taking place at Spring Street Studios (and not the old FotoFest headquarters on Vine Street), the biennial opening night bash is a sight to behold. This free event — a wild blend of photography, music, artists, beer and food trucks — drew an estimated 4,000 revelers in 2012, a record for the arts organization.

This year, guests will get a chance to hear the eclectic jazz stylings of Kinan Azmeh, a Syrian clarinetist who has performed and recorded alongside some of the biggest names in music, including Yo-Yo Ma.

Conversation with Fred Baldwin & Wendy Watriss (Monday, 7 p.m., The Menil Collection)

After creating FotoFest more than 30 years ago, Houston photographers Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss are passing the torch to the organization's newly-appointed director Steve Evans. In their honor, the Menil Collection has curated a small survey of the couple's work titled In the Midst of Things, featuring vintage images from the Civil Rights Movement and a newly-built Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, Baldwin and Watriss will discuss their early careers, the legacy of FotoFest and their future plans in front of an intimate crowd at the Menil.

FotoFest Fine Print Auction (March 24, 7 p.m., Doubletree Hotel–Downtown)

One of the highlights of every FotoFest Biennial, the fine print auction lures hundreds of collectors to the downtown Doubletree for a chance to acquire museum-quality pieces from current and past FotoFest artists. Funds from the auction support FotoFest's Literacy Through Photography education program as well as the organization's outreach efforts in more than 60 counties.

Arab world art conference and film series (March 29 and month of April, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will host a free day-long conference on contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. Speakers include FotoFest Biennial curators Karin Adrian von Roques and Wendy Watriss as well as Stephen Stapleton of UK arts initiative Edge of Arabia and acclaimed Palestinian photo artist Steve Sabella.

The MFAH continues its focus on the Arab world with an April film series that includes 2012's Academy Award-nominated Wadjda, the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia.

Rice University seminar on "Arabophobia" (April 2, Rice University)

Sponsored by FotoFest along with Rice University's Humanities Research Center and Baker Institute for Public Policy, this unique seminar pairs scholars with artists from FotoFest's biennial exhibits to deconstruct the rise and continuing threat of anti-Arabism across the globe.

Speakers include Rice University Arab Studies professor Ussama Makdisi, noted Middle East historian Melani McAlister and Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah.

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Houston's iconic Rothko Chapel receives new grant to restore Beryl damage

Courtesy of the Rothko Chapel

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Houston's beloved Rothko Chapel is one step closer to recovery after Hurricane Beryl in 2024. A substantial new grant from Bank of America will fund the restoration of Mark Rothko pieces damaged by the storm.

“This grant comes at a pivotal moment – not only for the Rothko Chapel, but in the broader context of our changing climate and growing vulnerability to extreme weather events,” said David Leslie, executive director of the Chapel. “The conservation process will require extensive time, specialized materials, and expert technical support to stabilize and restore these works, ensuring they can once again inspire visitors within this sacred space. Bank of America’s support underscores the urgent need to preserve culturally significant artworks like these, especially as we face new environmental challenges that threaten our artistic legacy.”

The Bank of America Art Conservation Project has been used to fund the preservation and restoration of culturally significant artworks since 2010. In 2021, the project also funded the restoration of an 13th Century Incan textile housed at Houston's Menil Collection. This year's other recipients include the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Museo Nacional de San Carlos in Mexico City, Sir John Soane's Museum in London, and the Sydney Opera House.

Since 1971, Rothko Chapel has been one of the best meditative spaces in Houston. Commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil in 1964, Rothko designed the space and painted its famous black panels. Rothko himself did not live to see the completion, dying by suicide in New York in 1970. Now, the chapel stands as a non-denominational spiritual center, hosting concerts, mindfulness clinics, and other events designed to promote mental healing in visitors.

When Hurricane Beryl hit Houston on July 8, high winds and torrential hammered the chapel's roof. Water leakage damaged the walls and one of Rothko's black triptychs on the east side of the building. It took seven months of work before the chapel was reopened to the public in December, but the damaged art was still housed off site for restoration. Bank of America's grant should hopefully speed up the process of returning the iconic pieces back to public view.

“It is devastating to see the domino effects of an event like Hurricane Beryl, jeopardizing the storied institutions and culturally significant works that provide so much context into the Houston identity,” said Hong Ogle, President, Bank of America Houston. “I am very proud that Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project allows us to support the arts in a unique and impactful way and preserve the works that mean the most to our community.”

In addition to the restoration, Rothko Chapel recently broke ground on a $42 million campus expansion. Two new buildings to the north with house administrative services and an archive, and a meditation garden dedicated to Kathleen and Chuck Mullenweg. A new program center will follow after.