biennial time

A preview of Russia's art secrets: Fotofest shows off pieces, includinghand-carried treasures

Mark Klett, Dusk .357, 2004, toned silver gelatin print, printed in 2010,Edition 12/20, signed and titled on front and signed on back, $1,200, donationof the artist
Evgeny Mokhorev, Dina and Misha, 2001, silver gelatin print, Edition 5/20,signed and titled in pencil on back, $2,500, donation of the artist
Richard Mosse, Cigarette at Al Faw Palace, 2009, digital C-print face-mounted toPlexiglas, Edition 1/5, signed and titled in pencil on front, $9,500, donationof the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, N.Y.
Manuel (Ed Hill and Suzanne Bloom), Oliver Twist, 2010, archival pigment print,Edition 4/5, initialed in pencil on front, $1,300, donation of the artists andMoody Gallery
Alexey Titarenko, Untitled (Prison Windows) from the series Time Standing Still,1998, silver gelatin print, Edition 9/15, signed and dated on back, $3,000,donation of the artist and Nailya Alexander Gallery, New York, N.Y.
Andy Freeberg, Stroganov Palace, Russian State Museum, 2008, archival pigmentink, printed in 2011, signed and titled in pencil on back, $4,800, donation ofthe artist and Anya Tish Gallery
Louis Faurer, New York, New York, c. 1947, silver gelatin print, printed in1981, signed and titled in pencil on back, $5,000, anonymous donation
David Levinthal, Untitled from the series Wild West, 1989, archival pigmentprint on Hahnemühle fine art paper, printed in 2009, Edition 8/10, signed inpencil on front, $1,500, donation of the artist

As its 2012 Biennial creeps closer and closer, FotoFest is now offering a sneak peek of work that will be available at its renowned International Fine Art Prints Auction on March 20.

Covering two floors of the Gremillion & Company galleries in Rice Village, the preview show (which runs through March 13) concentrates on Russian photo artists as well photographers from Asia, the Americas and other portions of Europe.

Along with FotoFest founders Wendy Watriss and Fred Baldwin, photography curators Anne Tucker of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Irina Chmyreva from the Russian Academy of Arts, led a group of more than two dozen collectors on a tour of highlights from the upcoming prints auction last Thursday.

"Fred [Baldwin] and I have been working in Russia for a long time," FotoFest co-founder Wendy Watriss said, " and we feel there is extremely good work that never makes it to the market."

"These are all handpicked prints, mostly from artists we have shown in the past or have commissioned in some way," Watriss told the crowd, noting that a number of works actually were hand-carried from Russia.

Though the Internet has allowed international cultural trends to permeate the Russian art scene, many artists of the former Soviet countries find it challenging to have their work shown outside their own country, primarily due to the high cost of travel.

"Fred and I have been working in Russia for a long time," Watriss said, "and we feel there is extremely good work that never makes it to the market.

"More than half of the work here is international and many pieces you simply never would get except through FotoFest. A number of these artists work through rather obscure galleries while others don't have galleries at all."

Revenues and proceeds from the Fine Print Auction benefit FotoFest's outreach efforts like Literacy Through Photography (LTP), a classroom-based education program for Houston-area public schools. Each year, LTP provides more than 1,000 cameras for use in a FotoFest-design curriculum aimed at improving communication skills.

In most cases, Watriss notes, the prints have been donated by the artists themselves as a gesture of support for the organization's broader commitment to photography and the photo-related arts.

The auction preview will be on display at Gremillion through March 13, when the works will be transported in preparation for the International Fine Art Prints Auction at the downtown Houston DoubleTree on March 20. Click for details.

This year's Biennial opens with a public reception March 16, 2012 at FotoFest’s Vine Street building. Visit the organization's website for more information on programming, including the 60-plus additional Biennial exhibits spaces located throughout the city this spring.

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50 years of TRF

First Renaissance Festival since owner's death draws strong attendance

Photo by Steven David Photography

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Those who were worried about the Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF) not performing well the first year after a court mandated its sale and the death of its founder can rest easy. The final gate totals show that the 2025 season was just as well attended as previous ones.

“The 51st annual Texas Renaissance Festival was another successful season thanks to our wonderful guests and dedicated team members,” TRF marketing director Tyler Moyer said. “Our team worked tirelessly to bring the magic of the Renaissance to life every weekend, and we’re grateful that our patrons love us more and more with every passing year. We’re so thankful to everyone who helped make this another great event, and we can’t wait to welcome folks back in 2026.”

In total, 492,910 patrons visited TRF over its eight themed weekends, with almost 100,000 coming through the gates for the final, extended Christmas weekend alone. On Friday, November 28, some, including this reporter, might have felt the event felt too crowded. Still, people made merry in medieval Santa costumes and the occasional Krampus.

While attendance was down about 8 percent from 2024 (533,356), that year featured many 50th anniversary celebrations. Over the past five years, TRF has averaged about 486,000 visitors according to the TRF media office. The numbers for 2025 are even more impressive considering that the last week of October featured torrential rain across the Houston area.

There was much concern about how well the festival would run. Earlier this year, founder George Coulam lost a court case mandating that he sell the festival after Coulam attempted to back out of a deal with Austin developer Meril Rivard. The matter was further complicated by Coulam's death in May, throwing the appeal process into chaos.

Throughout the tangled legal maneuverings, everyone running the festival vowed to keep it going just as it is. Grimes County Judge Gary W. Chaney appointed a pair of special masters to administrate TRF at the top while the matter sat in court, which they appear to have done flawlessly if the gate receipts are any indication.

Now that the season is over, all parties involved with the lawsuit will have free rein to continue the fight and another indicator of how popular and profitable TRF is. The 90 day appeal window open to Coulam's beneficiary closes in early 2026, Hopefully, the matter will be settled before the next season looms.

texas renaissance festival