Arts Nonprofits to Unite In Cincinnati To Focus On The Earth

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Photo: Hailey Bollinger

The Convening will bring together national and local artists, activists and thinkers whose works focus on histories of the land, especially those of American history relevant to the Cincinnati region.

Local photography and lens-art nonprofit FotoFocus is teaming up with Creative Time, a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to innovative public art, for a special series of public talks and performances in Cincinnati this October.

FotoFocus and Creative Time’s series, The Convening, will take place over the weekend of Oct. 20-21. Friday, Oct. 20, the organizers will host a welcome event and performance at Mecca OTR. A full day of discussions at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Contemporary Arts Center will follow on that Saturday.

The Convening will explore themes loosely based around the Earth – specifically land, waterways and trees. Through discussions, workshops and performances led by national and local artists, activists and thinkers whose works focus on histories of the land, especially those of American history relevant to the Cincinnati region, participants will learn more about issues like land sovereignty, access, stewardship and the legacies of forced migration in the United States.

FotoFocus says The Convening was born out of both organizations’ efforts to lead urgent discussions around arts and politics. Organizers say the collaborative series was designed to get participants thinking about land use and self-determination through contemporary art practices like photography.

“For nearly 10 years, FotoFocus has organized impactful discussions in Cincinnati highlighting photography’s relevancy to the pressing issues of our time. We are excited to combine curatorial forces with Creative Time, expanding these conversations to include different perspectives. Through this partnership, we aim to inspire critical conversation and create a platform for perspective-changing ideas,” said FotoFocus Executive Director Katherine Ryckman Siegwarth said in the release.

“Creative Time is thrilled to partner with FotoFocus to engender transformational conversations deeply rooted in the Cincinnati region that resonate across the country. This program draws from histories of the land and envisions possible futures through the work of creative visionaries both locally and far afield,” Justine Ludwig, Creative Time’s executive director, said in the release.

The Convening will also serve as a prelude to The American Manifest, a multi-city public art project from artist Charles Gaines that was commissioned by Creative Time and FotoFocus. The American Manifest is a series of monumentally-scaled that offer “multifaceted engagement with history, implicating northern ‘free’ states in their dual roles of both maintaining and abolishing slavery,” says FotoFocus.

Learn more about The American Manifest here.

The Convening is free and open to the public, with a full speaker lineup to be announced later this summer. Get updates here.