FotoFocus Biennial offers ‘The Long View’ this October

Photography captures a single moment. FotoFocus’ 2026 Biennial wants to put a bunch of those captured moments into perspective.

“The Long View,” the eighth edition of the Cincinnati-based photography festival, will bring 74 exhibitions to 65 venues across Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Northern Kentucky throughout October. Its theme uses photography to consider our place within the sweep of history and reflect on the past, present and future.

“The United States is at a critical moment in its history and it is my hope that, through a broad spectrum of photography exhibitions and conversations, we can better understand where we are, where we have been, and where we are going as a nation and culture,” said Kevin Moore, FotoFocus artistic director and curator.

Opening weekend

The biennial opens with a four-day program Sept. 30-Oct. 3 featuring exhibitions, receptions, artist conversations, tours and a keynote lecture by Daniel Immerwahr, a Northwestern University scholar of global history and U.S. foreign policy. Immerwahr will deliver the keynote Oct. 3 at Memorial Hall, speaking on “the long view” and the broader perspective that defines this year’s biennial theme.

The opening program begins Sept. 30 at The Carnegie with a reception for “Natural Fictions.” On Oct. 1, the Cincinnati Art Museum will host a reception for “Nancy Rexroth: Secrets of My Power,” followed by a lecture with Nathaniel M. Stein, the museum’s curator of photography, and a book signing with Rexroth.

Oct. 2 brings programming to the Contemporary Arts Center and Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery, including a gallery tour of “In the Interest of Time,” a reception for “Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Compressed Tenses” and a conversation about Widline Cadet’s “Seremoni Disparisyon (Ritual [Dis]Appearance).”

The program wraps up Oct. 3 at Memorial Hall with conversations focused on several of the biennial’s featured exhibitions, including “Natural Fictions,” “Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Compressed Tenses,” “Nancy Rexroth: Secrets of My Power” and Trevor Paglen’s “the most merciful thing in the world.”

Major solo presentations throughout the biennial will feature work by Paglen, Sepuya, Rexroth and Cadet.

Neighborhood weekends

“The Long View” also will spread beyond traditional gallery spaces, with exhibitions and programming at museums, galleries, schools and universities, theaters, nonprofit cultural centers, parks, hotels and libraries. Events throughout October will include artist and curator talks, tours, performances, screenings and receptions.

Three Neighborhood Spotlight Weekends will put a regional focus on the biennial. Dayton will be featured Oct. 16-18, followed by Columbus Oct. 23-25 and Cincinnati Oct. 30-Nov. 1. 

The weekends will bring artists and curators to venues for talks, tours and special events, with bus tours from Cincinnati offering programmed itineraries of selected exhibitions and venues.

A free Biennial Pass offers access to more than 70 photography and lens-based exhibitions during October, along with invitations to exclusive events, including the opening program. 

At participating exhibitions that charge admission, the pass waives entry fees. FotoFocus also will offer free round-trip bus tours from Cincinnati to selected venues around the region.