CINCINNATI, OH.- FotoFocus announces its Fall 2025 Symposium: Photo-Economics, an all-day event on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at Lightborne Studios (212 E 14th Street). Delving into the industrial history of photography and its role in shaping social narratives, the lineup includes leading voices, such as artists Mitch Epstein, Katy Grannan, Alison Rossiter, and Lauren Bon, as well as scholars such as Robert Slifkin, Monica Bravo, Lee Ann Daffner, and Benjamin Young, each exploring aspects of photography's part in systems of global industrialization and distribution, including the impacts of these realities on social and political systems. A reception following the symposium will feature live music from local band Red Cedars.

“The FotoFocus symposium and biennial themes always address some essential aspect of photography while at the same time exploring how that aspect functions in the larger human sphere,” says Kevin Moore, Artistic Director and Curator at FotoFocus. “Photo-Economics is about the resources of photography–what photography is materially, what it’s actually made of–and the impact on people’s lives that inevitably arise over competition for those material resources.”

The keynote conversation will feature leading American photographer Mitch Epstein and NYU professor Robert Slifkin. They will elaborate upon the themes of the day, offering a deeper look at the medium of photography against the backdrop of labor and political struggles in relation to resources, class, and consumption, while emphasizing the beauty of the American landscape and the people who feel compelled to protect it.
“FotoFocus is pleased to announce this timely theme and welcome guests to this year’s symposium,” says Katherine Ryckman Siegwarth, Executive Director. “Photo-Economics marks the tenth anniversary of this signature program and continues a tradition of collaborative thinking about the contemporary world through the medium of photography.”

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.