The platform for art and ideas is the first and longest-running international Biennial of photography and new media art in the United States and dedicated its 15th edition to contemporary Arab photography, video and mixed-media art.

The works of 49 Arab artists from 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa were included. The biennial was the largest presentation of contemporary Arab photography, video and installation work in the United States for over ten years. It was accompanied by a six-week program of films, conferences, tours, curatorial forums, a fine print auction, collectors events, music and literature events, and children’s educational activities showcasing the culture and history of the region and its peoples.

FotoFest Senior Curator Wendy Watriss said: “This generation of artists grew up when satellite television, photo digital technologies, the internet, and social media became widespread in the Arab world, They use these global media in individually specific ways, addressing personal experience, and the collective realities of living in the Arab world today. This is the view from inside.”