Discoveries of the Meeting Place

From FotoFest’s 2008 Meeting Place where over thirty percent of the artist-registrants came from outside the United States, it is unusual to see that almost all the 2010 DISCOVERIES OF THE MEETING PLACE selections are U.S. artists. It is also striking to see the impact of war on this selection. Three of the artists are dealing directly with issues of war and conflict, particularly its aftermath and participants.

The works are diverse, often provocative and surprising. The curatorial statements create an informative dialogue between the images, the artists and their audience. The 2010 DISCOVERIES OF THE MEETING PLACE is the eighth exhibition relating to the Meeting Place portfolio reviews.

FotoFest inaugurated the first exhibition at FotoFest’s 1996 Biennial in Houston ten years after the Meeting Place began. The curatorial process is direct: Shortly after each Biennial, FotoFest asks ten reviewers invited to look at artists’ work at that year’s portfolio reviews to select one artist whose work she/he considers to be a particularly interesting “discovery.” The ten selected artists are asked to show their work in the following Biennial’s DISCOVERIES OF THE MEETING PLACE exhibition. The curators are asked to write a curatorial statement to accompany the work they select.

The DISCOVERIES OF THE MEETING PLACE exhibitions have become very popular. FotoFest has traveled four of these exhibits to Brazil, Russia and Mexico. FotoFest has also developed special exchange agreements as regards the Meeting Place with other festivals and art centers such as Rhubarb, Rhubarb in Birmingham, U.K.; Encuentros Abiertos—Festival de la Luz in Buenos Aires, Argentina; PhotoLucida, Portland, Oregon; Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City; and En Foco in New

It is our hope that this DISCOVERIES OF THE MEETING PLACE exhibition is just the beginning of a long and meaningful career in art-making for its participants.