Know your Arthur Elgort from your Ansel Adams? Your X-Pro filter from your 1977? FotoWeek
DC, the annual weeklong festival dedicated to showcasing photography, kicks off today
with exhibitions, competitions, seminars, portfolio reviews, parties, and more. Here’s
our guide to five things you shouldn’t miss.
FotoWeek Central
Each year, the festival bounces around among different home bases. In 2011 it was
mainly located in the empty Borders space at 18th and L, with exhibitions on two different
levels. This year FotoWeek takes over the Warner Theatre at 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue,
where there’ll be ten different exhibitions on display, from the Pulitzer Center on
Crisis Reporting’s “Global Goods/Local Costs” show to the Instagram exhibit. A $7
admission fee ($5 in advance) gets you access to all of the shows and most of the
additional lectures and programming.
Corcoran Gallery of Art
To coincide with the festival, the Corcoran has two major photography exhibits on
display this weekend. “Taryn Simon: A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters
I-XVIII” is a vast, thought-provoking look at heritage and humanity, in which Simon
photographs members of different family trees to explore their bloodlines and legacies.
“Ivan Sigal: White Road” reveals black-and-white photos taken of former Soviet Union
towns from 1998 through 2005 by Sigal, a Washington resident and nonprofit director.
Closing Party
Yes, you could shell out $55 plus booking fees to attend the launch party this Saturday,
but for $25 you can attend the closing party
at the former Spanish ambassador’s residence on November 17. Last year’s event at
House of Sweden was a typically raucous and stylish affair, and this year’s promises
to be no different, with music by Puerto Rican fusion band Empresarios, drinks, dancing,
and photos, of course.
FotoWeekEdu
It wouldn’t be FotoWeek DC without a chance for amateur snappers to learn from the
pros. All week the Goethe-Institut hosts seminars from pros such as
National Geographic’s
Michael Melford and MediaStorm’s
Brian Storm, along with portfolio
reviews
from a panel of artists including Pulitzer winner
Carol Guzy and
The Washingtonian’s own
David Hicks.
FotoWeekContest
Love Instagram? Feeling lazy this weekend? Check out FotoWeek DC’s curated selection
of Instagram shots online.
FotoWeek DC runs November 9 through 18 at a variety of locations around town. For
more information and a list of events, visit FotoWeek DC’s website.
