On November 7, FotoWeekDC kicks off a weeklong celebration of screenings, installations, and lectures. The heart of the festival is FotoWeek Central, located at the Former Residence of the Spanish Ambassadors in Columbia Heights, where a powerful collection of works from iconic photographers and emerging artists serves as the festival’s anchor exhibit.
Photojournalist Misha Friedman’s Iron Closet occupies the building’s interior courtyard. Through intimate, candid moments, Friedman offers a look into Russia’s widespread intolerance toward the LGBT community, revealing how people are forced into hiding. Another exhibit, titled Aperture, displays images from the Aperture Foundation‘s archives. Featuring haunting portraits by Annie Leibovitz, Mary Ellen Mark, and Dorothea Lange, the archives essentially take you through 50 years of history.
In the foyer, you can find winners of the FotoWeekDC competition. Another indoor section is devoted to the Women Photojournalists of Washington’s 2015 Juried Photography Exhibit. These prints tell powerful stories, both global and local, on the subject of gender.
Spanish artist Bego Anton’s photo essay, Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha, delves into the world of musical canine freestyle, a competitive sport in which humans perform choreographed dances with their dogs. Anton became fascinated with the practice after discovering it on YouTube and traveled across the US documenting it. The resulting poignant photos and documentary were produced with the support of SPAIN arts & culture. “Not only did I want to show the choreography, but also the bond,” Anton said during a preview exhibition on Wednesday. “What I proposed was to work on the contradictory ways we relate to animals.”
Here’s a selection of FotoWeekDC events:
Former Spanish Ambassador’s Residence
November 6
Kick off the festival with an open bar bash featuring photography exhibitions, food, photobooths, and music.
US Holocaust Memorial
November 9 to 12
A display of images of Iraqi religious and ethnic minorities, projected on the outside walls of the museum
National Gallery of Art, East Building
November 7
A film about a photojournalist’s experience covering war
Freer and Sackler Galleries, Meyer Auditorium
November 12
An award-winning documentary about the role of photojournalism in the Afghanistan war
National Gallery of Art, East Building
November 14
A film about photographer Dorothea Lange, narrated and directed by her granddaughter
