One of the city’s preeminent cultural and visual arts offerings is back after a reimagining during the pandemic.
FotoFest, Houston's all-encompassing, biennial showcase of timely, socially relevant photography, officially launches its 2022 Biennial Saturday, September 24, with an impressive array of events including a swanky gala and reception, exhibit unveilings, and more.
The organization, dedicated to showcasing the best in photography and visual culture, produces and sponsors a number of exhibitions across the city. The Biennial is on view from September 24 through November 6 at Sawyer Yards and a host of other participating venues and offers compelling exhibits and other programming.
The central exhibition, "If I Had A Hammer," explores how artists around the world capture the essence of cultural movements. These works showcase how people of all ideologies come together, resisting and replacing the legacies of colonialism and imperialism.
On Saturday, September 24, visitors can head to Silver Street Studios for the FotoFest Biennial 2022 grand opening. From 8 to 11 pm, guests can meet the artists and curators behind the central exhibition, "If I Had A Hammer," along with the concurrent exhibitions "African Cosmologies: Redux" (a must-see) and "Ten by Ten," a curated showcase of cutting-edge works. (One "Ten by Ten" standout is artist Zana Briski, who works patiently on moonless nights to capture wild animals in Animalograms, making exposures of them directly onto large sheets of photographic paper.) It’s also an opportunity to be among the first to see these important works from talented artists.
Zana Briski cleverly captures wild animals in Animalograms.ZanaBriski.com
Those looking for a more in-depth understanding of these works should take part in some of FotoFest’s programming offerings on Sunday, September 25. These include a curatorial walkthrough of "If I Had A Hammer," where co-curators Steven Evans, Max Fields, and Amy Sadao will discuss each of the included artists and highlight several pieces. In addition, several featured artists will be there to talk about their approach to their art and answer questions.
That evening features a performance of DASH by Ho Rui An, which opens with footage of an accident captured by a dashboard camera.
Thursday, September 29’s Fine Print Auction at the Whitehall Houston Hotel gives guests the opportunity to bid on museum-quality prints from some of the world’s finest contemporary photographers. This fundraiser is essential to the ongoing programming that FotoFest provides, giving photography lovers an incentive to take home gorgeous works and support a great cause.
Art lovers and observers of global cultural contexts and piercing socio-political will find much to celebrate and ponder in all of FotoFest Biennial 2022’s offerings, which remind that some pictures truly are worth a thousand words.
