FotoFocus is pleased to announce the Opening Program for the 2026 Biennial: The Long View, which will take place September 30–October 3 and establish the primary ideas and main themes that unite the entirety of the Biennial through the month of October. The largest of its kind in America, extending across museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces in Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky, the Biennial celebrates photography and lens-based art while bringing together artists, curators, and educators from around the world. The eighth edition of the Biennial, The Long View, features 74 exhibitions presented at 65 venues including the newly opened FotoFocus Center. Major solo presentations will feature work by Trevor Paglen, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Nancy Rexroth, and Widline Cadet.

Program Schedule

Noon Light Bites

1pm Natural Fictions

Conversation with Artists Joshua Berg, Covington, KY; Heesoo Kwon, Los Angeles, CA; and Phillip Maisel, San Francisco, CA; moderated by Curator Lindsay Albert, Program Manager, KADIST, San Francisco, CA

2pm Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Compressed Tenses

Conversation with Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Artist, Los Angeles, CA, and Carmen Winant, Artist and Roy Lichtenstein Chair of Studio Art at the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

3pm Nancy Rexroth: Secrets of My Power

Conversation with Curator Nathaniel M. Stein, Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, and Elizabeth Leitzell, Photographer and Short Filmmaker, Philadelphia, PA

4pm Trevor Paglen: the most merciful thing in the world

Performance-lecture by Trevor Paglen, Artist, New York, NY, and San Francisco, CA

5pm The Long View Keynote

Lecture by Daniel Immerwahr, Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

Artist Lecture: Trevor Paglen: Fotofocus