FotoWeekDC is upon us again, opening its seventh annual photography festival this Friday with a blow-out opening party at their new headquarters, the Former Spanish Ambassador’s Residence in Mount Pleasant. As always, there’s an overwhelming number of events, so we picked out a handful that we recommend making a priority. Got more worth recommending? Tell us in the comments.
(P.S. It’s not part of FotoWeek, but make time this Sunday for the opening of an extended run of our InstantDC Fall Review at Bloombars, from 2 to 4 p.m.)
Events at FOTO CENTRAL
The Former Spanish Ambassador’s Residence
2801 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
- FotoWeekDC 2014 Opening Party – Tickets
Friday, November 7: 7:30 to 11 p.m.
The 7th annual FotoWeek DC 2014 launch and opening reception exhibiting the contest winners. There will be an open bar, photo-booths, photography and entertainment by Haerts, Pleasure Curses and DJs Lisa Frank & Chris Nitti. - FotoTalks: Developing a Vision (or, How Czech Surrealism Saved Me from Photojournalism)
Saturday, November 8: 1 to 2 p.m.
Bill Crandall—a Washington, D.C. native—is one of the city’s leading documentary photographers and photo educators. He will discuss aspects of his personal vision from his work both from home and abroad. The Waiting Room—his debut photobook—feature photographs from Belarus, a ten-year project, which won a top award in FotoweekDC’s 2012 International Photography Competition. Crandall is currently working on various independent projects, which includes his second book—work he calls “fairy tales” from the constantly changing Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. - FotoTalks: Frank Hallam Day
Sunday, November 9: 12 to 1 p.m.
Frank Hallam Day is a renowned fine art photographer based in Washington DC. Day’s images often captured the tenuous relationship between man and nature. His work from RV and his early works from mostly the manmade east coast concern the semiotics of culture and social history. Currently, Day is working on a body of work depicting abandoned phone booths in Bangkok. - FotoTalks: Photography for Social Change – Part of Critical Exposure’s “From Darkroom to Digital: 10 Years of Developing Youth Voice” Series
Tuesday, November 11: 5 to 6 p.m.
This talk is an exploration of the role of photography in social movements and presentation by Critical Exposure youth about how they’re using it to improve their schools. - Lomography Workshop: Snapping Film Photography for Kids
Sunday, November 9, 2014,
Introduce your kids to film photography with a fun and easy to use analogue plastic camera. Let them get their hands on the past so they can create the future. For children above six years.
Exhibits at FOTO CENTRAL
Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 12 to 8 pm.
Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- New Spanish Photography: Visions Beyond Borders
SPAIN arts & culture presents a collective photo exhibition introducing fourteen Spanish artists that illustrate their visions of the urban and natural landscape—beyond borders of place—expressed from an analytical or emotional perspective. This exhibition was curated by SPAIN FRESH’s curatorial team and produced by King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU. - The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus
Committed practitioner of “slow journalism” Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen have been working together since 2007 to tell the story of Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. They have returned repeatedly to this region, establishing a solid foundation of research on and engagement with this small yet incredibly complicated region before it finds itself in the glare of international media attention.
FotoWeekDC Exhibits Elsewhere Around D.C.
- Fathom Gallery: Women Photojournalists of Washington 2014 Annual Juried Photography Exhibition
This exhibit features the work of the members of WPOW: Women Photojournalists of Washington, on women’s issues. The show makes its debut at FotoWeekDC and continues on a tour of universities across the nation. This year’s show features the work of 14 WPOW members, including the Best in Show image by world-renowned photographer Ami Vitale, and was curated by National Geographic’s Elizabeth Krist. Opening reception Thursday, November 13, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.
1333 14th St NW Washington, DC - Katzen Arts Center: Some Uses of Photography – Four Washington Artists.
The definition of a photograph and its relationship to other visual art forms has undergone enormous changes since the invention of photography in the 19th century. The work of four female artists–Jenn De Palma, Ding Ren, Siobhan Rigg, and Sandra Rottmann –represents this ongoing dialog about craft, authenticity, the role of the artist, and other concerns that embody today’s definition of photography and it’s varied uses within contemporary art practices. Some Uses of Photography is curated by Phyllis Rosenzweig; read Exposed DC’s interview with Rosenzweig about the exhibit.
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Opening reception Saturday, November 8, 6 to 9 p.m. - Hillyer Art Space: Three Photography Exhibitions.
Christine Pearl (a former ExposedDC winner) will present a solo exhibition, Last Car Running, a series of black and white photographs documenting the demolition derby subculture—a rural, working-class America. Anthony Palliparambil Jr. exhibits From the Archives, work focusing on the influence of technology and social media on contemporary art. The gallery will also feature Visible Iceland, a group exhibition comprised of beautiful photographic works capturing Iceland’s unique landscape and lifestyle by both Icelandic and American photographers. This exhibition is in partnership with the Embassy of Iceland. Drinks provided by The Bier Baron, and Icelandic inspired food provided by Whole Foods Market P Street. Free, $5 Suggested Donation
9 Hillyer Ct NW, Washington, D.C.
Opening reception Friday, November 7, 2014, 6 to 9 p.m. - The Phillips Collection: Modern Images: Photographs From The Permanent Collection
The photographs exhibit Aaron Siskind, Brett Weston, and Minor White enchanting close-ups an abstracted nature. Simultaneously, Ansel Adams and André Kertész show their dramatic perspectives of nature.
1600 21st St NW, Washington, DC
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 12 to 7 p.m. - Artisphere: Joshua Yospyn: American Sequitur
This exhibit features a selection of Joshua Yospyn’s book project on the ‘lighter side’ of liberty, American Sequitur. As he told the New York Times Lens Blog, “There is a gushing reservoir of irony, whimsy and pride in this country,” all of which blend together in his carefully sequenced series of images, taken on editorial assignments and road trips across the country in the last five years. Yospyn will give a talk on November 8 at 2 p.m. at Foto Central. Wed-Fri: 4 to 11 p.m., Sat: 12 – 11 p.m., Sun, 12 – 5 p.m. - National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center: The Great Picture
The 3,375-square-foot photograph of an abandoned El Toro Marine Corps air station in Southern California was taken by the largest pinhole camera in the world. “The Great Picture” is a unique camera obscura black-and-white, gelatin silver, photograph 31 feet high and 107 feet wide. This single mammoth photograph was created in 2006 by a group of six artists—Jerry Burchfield, Mark Chamberlain, Jacques Garnier, Rob Johnson, Douglas McCulloh, and Clayton Spada—along with hundreds of volunteers. They transformed the abandoned F/A-18 fighter jet hangar into a gigantic pinhole camera by darkening and sealing the interior from outside light. A pinhole just under a quarter-inch in diameter was centered between the metal hangar doors to serve as the camera’s aperture. While this particular pinhole camera was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest, the “camera-obscura” technique has been known for more than 2,000 years.
14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy Chantilly, VA
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Daily
FotoWeekDC Events Elsewhere Around D.C.
- FotoFilm: Her Aim is True by Karen Whitehead, Screening and Panel (Filmmaker in attendance)
The award-winning documentary her aim is true made by Karen Whitehead and produced by Eddie Vedder showcases the remarkable story of Jini Dellaccio, the first woman photographer of rock ‘n’ roll in the early 1960’s. Dellaccio worked with The Sonics and Neil Young and captured early performances by groups such as The Who and The Rolling Stones.
Sunday, November 9, 2014: 3 to 6 p.m.
Goethe-Institut Washington
812 7th St NW Washington, DC, 20001 - Workshop: Avenues for Exposure to Your Photography: Galleries, Publishing and Online Magazine. $50, Register here.
There are many ways to gain recognition and exposure for your photographic projects. David Bram and Jennifer Schwartz will discuss how to approach galleries, photobook publishing options, and showing your work through online blogs and publications in this two-hour seminar.
Saturday, November 15, 3 to 5 p.m.
Leica Store DC
977 F Street NW, Washington DC - Leica T Walking Tour
Go on a complimentary Leica T Camera System walking tour in downtown Washington, DC. This is the first session of the day. A second session will take place from 2-4 p.m. We will start off with an introduction to the camera and its basic functions. From there we will walk around downtown DC with the Leica T. Please RSVP via email with your time preference.
(Recommendations via Caroline Space and Heather Goss.)