FOTOFEST 2006 The Eleventh International Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art 1986-2006 The Earth – Artists Responding to Violence March 10 - April 23, 2006 Houston, Texas FotoFest International announces the Eleventh International Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art, FOTOFEST2006 in Houston, Texas. FOTOFEST2006 is concurrently the twentieth anniversary of the biennial. The city-wide event will feature over 120 exhibitions of photographic art works in museums and non-traditional gallery spaces throughout Houston. FotoFest’s acclaimed Portfolio Review program, The International Meeting Place, and the Fine Print Auction are scheduled for the opening weeks of the 2006 Biennial. FOTOFEST EXHIBITIONS AND INSTALLATIONS March 10 – April 23, 2006 FotoFest is curating and commissioning 20 exhibitions featuring 40 artists around dual themes: The Earth and Artists Responding to Violence. More than 100 other spaces, from full-time galleries and museums to commercial and retail places, are participating with independently curated exhibitions. The Earth continues and expands the FotoFest 2004 exploration of Water, combining conceptual and figurative interpretations of earth through artistic expression, science, and public policy. The capacity of human society to inflict violence upon itself and the earth is expanding with the ever increasing spread of technology and population. The physical and mythic force of earth presents itself in art in many guises. FOTOFEST2006 is presenting work that engages The Earth metaphorically and figuratively. The art encompasses mixed-media work, classical photography, video and film. It addresses both human and non-human life in broad existential ways as well as issues of land use and geophysical history. Artists Responding to Violence is a separate but connected theme to The Earth. Human-created violence, from war to the household, is omni-present and ubiquitous. It is not only threatening the existence of earth but is transforming the nature of political society. In exploring this theme, FotoFest is not focusing on the depiction of violent acts but rather on how creative artists interpret these acts of violence, the human capacity for violence, and the presence of violence in many aspects of life. FotoFest is using a wide variety of media to explore these themes including traditional silver-based photography, digital processes, mixed-media installations, as well as film and video. FotoFest’s own exhibitions are located in the FotoFest headquarters at Vine Street Studios warehouse, DiverseWorks Artspace, The Art League, Winter Street Studios, The New World Museum, as well as galleries, corporate, and alternative spaces throughout Houston. Selected FOTOFEST2006 exhibitions include new installations by Alfredo Jaar, and The Starn Twins, as well as new work by Liza Nguyen, AES+F, and Juan Manuel Echevarría. Among the 100+ independent spaces hosting exhibitions are the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Contemporary Arts Museum, The Menil Collection, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston Center for Photography and over 45 professional art galleries. Alternative artist-run spaces, corporations, retail locations, and restaurants become visual art spaces for the FotoFest Biennial. The Participating Spaces are integral to the FotoFest’s effort to transform the city into a “museum without walls” connecting art to all parts of urban life. FotoFest publishes a Biennial Catalogue and free citywide Exhibits and Events Map and Biennial Calendar. 2006 FILM AND VIDEO PROGRAM Houston March 31 - April 9, 2006 FotoFest is sponsoring a special Film and Video series related to The Earth theme in partnership with the Environmental Film Festival in Washington D.C. and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Film Department. The films are screening at The Brown Auditorium Theater at the Museum of Fine Arts. Over 30 U.S. and international films are being presented including feature films, animated shorts, short documentaries and docudramas. A full listing of films is being posted on the website in February 2006. THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL MEETING PLACE March 10 – March 23, 2006 The largest event of its kind in the world, the Meeting Place, is known to photographers and professionals alike, as a place where opportunities are created and careers can be made. FotoFest’s Portfolio Review for Artists, the Meeting Place brings artists together with influential photography professionals, museum curators, gallery owners, magazine editors, photo agencies, collectors and publishers for two-weeks of portfolio presentations and meetings. Over 320 international photographers and 110 photo professionals are participating in the 2006 Meeting Place at The Doubletree Hotel, Downtown Houston, the headquarters hotel for FOTOFEST2006. Along with the Meeting Place, FotoFest is sponsoring two one-day Workshops. On March 14, Making the Digital World Work for You features an in-depth overview from image capture to image output and how to control the image throughout the digital process. This workshop is moderated by Mary Virginia Swanson in conjunction with American Society of Media Photographers. Publishing the Photographic Book is taking place on March 19 and is moderated by Robert Morton with publishers, book packagers, agents and photography consultants. This workshop will cover the publishing process from contacting a publisher to distribution, as well as self publishing. THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL FINE PRINT AUCTION March 14, 2006 The Fine Print Auction provides a rare opportunity for collectors to access high quality contemporary fine art photography from Latin America, Asia, Canada, Europe, and the United States. FotoFest’s Seventh Fine Print Auction takes place at The Doubletree Hotel, Downtown Houston. FotoFest sponsors the auction with support from Sotheby’s New York and auctioneer Denise Bethel, Sotheby’s Senior Vice President and Director of Photographs. Revenues from print sales at the Fine Print Auction benefit artist programs and the Meeting Place portfolio reviews allowing hundreds of photographic artists to exhibit work and show their portfolios to important museum curators, publishers, gallery owners, and representatives of photo agencies from the United States, Mexico, South America, Australia, Canada, and Europe. Proceeds from Auction ticket and table sales benefit FotoFest’s year-round educational program, Literacy Through Photography (LTP). LTP provides more than a thousand students in Houston-area public schools and beyond with cameras and a curriculum using photography to improve writing and cognitive skills. For more information on the FOTOFEST2006 and its associated programs, please contact the FotoFest Press Coordinator at 713/ 223-5522 ext 26 or press3@fotofest.org. For updates on all FOTOFEST2006 programs see the FotoFest web site: www.fotofest.org. SPONSORS (as of December 2005) : Major Institutional Sponsors William Stamps Farish Foundation, The Brown Foundation Inc., Houston Houston Endowment, Inc., City of Houston through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County, The Annenberg Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Axiom Design, Houston, JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Vine Street Studios, The Doubletree Hotel, Downtown Houston, Hexagroup, The Clayton Fund, Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation, The Favrot Fund, Susan Vaughan Foundation, The Wortham Foundation, iLand Internet Solutions Media Partners Aperture Magazine, European Photography Magazine, Fotograf Magazine, International Magazine for Photography and Visual Culture, Pluk Magazine, Photo L.A. Additional Institutional Support Texas Commission for the Arts, Continental Airlines, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – Film Department, New World Museum, Williams Tower Gallery, Trizec Office Properties – One and Two Allen Center, DiverseWorks Artspace, Sotheby’s New York – Photography Department, Denise Bethel, The Samuels Foundation – Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community of Houston, De Santos Gallery, Art League Houston , The Wealth Group – Erie City Ironworks The Earth Heidi Bradner (U.S.A., UK, Russia) – The Land of the Second Sun Dornith Doherty (U.S.A) – Rio Grande: Burnt Water/Agua Quemada John Ganis (U.S.A.) – Consuming the American Landscape Eduardo del Valle & Mirta Gomez (Cuba, U.S.A.) – From the Ground Up Vadim Gushchin (Russia) – Bread and Wood Harri Kallio (Finland, U.S.A.) – The DoDo and Mauritius Island, Imaginary Encounters Eric Klemm (Germany, Canada) – Metamorphosis Elaine Ling (Canada) – Monoliths Vesselina Nikolaeva (Bulgaria, The Netherlands) – No Man’s Land on the Edge of Europe Hyung-Geun Park (Korea, UK) – Untitled Peter Riedlinger (Germany) and Noel Jabbour (Palestine, Germany) – US / THEM Abby Robinson (U.S.A.) – In Camera Mark Ruwedel (U.S.A.) – Ice Age from the series Written on the Land Keith Sharp (U.S.A.) – Self-Transformation Series Doug and Mike Starn (U.S.A.) – Absorption and Transmission Martin Stupich (U.S.A.) – The Red Desert Project Herman van den Boom (Belgium) – Arcadia Redesigned David Williams (Scotland) – one taste Barbara Yoshida (U.S.A.) – Menhirs Artists Responding to Violence AES+F (Russia) – Action Half Life and Last Riot Alfredo Jaar (U.S.A.) – The Sound of Silence Juan Manuel Echevarría (Columbia) – Mouths of Ash Lisdebertus (U.S.A.) – Unfathomable Humanity Joakim Eneroth (Sweden) – Reactive Jules Greenberg (U.S.A.) – Fallen Nathalie Latham (France) – Closed City Nº65 Paula Luttringer (Argentina, France) – The Wailing of the Walls Liza Nguyen (France) – Surface Elizabeth Mellott-Carreon (Denton, Texas) – Diary of an Enlistment and One Day Discoveries of the Meeting Place The one non themed FotoFest exhibition is the sixth Discoveries of the Meeting Place exhibit. It highlights the work of ten outstanding artists selected by curator/reviewers from artists whose portfolios they reviewed at FotoFest’s 2004 International Meeting Place. The Meeting Place is FotoFest’s acclaimed portfolio review program for artists. It is the largest program of its kind in the world. The 2004 Discoveries exhibit will feature Lili Almog (U.S.A., selected by Juan Alberto Gaviria), Dave Anderson (U.S.A., selected by Yossi Milo), Luis Delgado (U.S.A., selected by Fernando Castro), Esteban Pastorino Diaz (Argentina, selected by Burt & Missy Finger), Justin Guariglia (Singapore, selected by Alan E. Rapp), Fredrik Marsh (U.S.A., selected by John Bennette), Martina Mullaney (U.K., selected by Charlotte Cotton), Morten Nilson (Denmark, selected by Xavier Cannone & Marc Vausort), Frank Rodick (Canada, selected by Katherine Ware), and Brad Temkin (U.S.A, selected by Evgeny Berezner & Irina Tchmyreva).