Critical Geography

NEW!

Critical Geography reexamines historical narratives that have shaped our traditional understanding of geography, provoking conversations around social justice, environmental sustainability, and transformative change.

The lens-based works in this exhibition shed light on systemic oppression, violence, urgent environmental concerns, and inequality in colonial and post-colonial contexts. Critical Geography highlights a range of unorthodox strategies employed to construct new narratives around place and community while imagining alternative organizations of social space. These photographers, image makers, and storytellers explore how space, place, and communities are influenced by social, economic, ecological, and political forces.

Existing and newly commissioned works from national and international artists “allow viewers to engage in important dialogues around the social dimensions of space and our shared planet,” says Steven Evans, executive director of FotoFest and curator of the exhibition.

In Talking Back to Power, Memphis-born C. Rose Smith’s series of self-portraits feature the artist posing defiantly on the sites of southern American plantations turned into tourist attractions. California-based artist Stephanie Syjuco repurposes old, staged pictures of “natives” in an artificial Filipino village that was fabricated for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Like Syjuco, several exhibition participants manipulate existing material to address the historical erasure of the disenfranchised peoples depicted therein, including artist Siu Wai Hang. By physically altering his own photographs taken during anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong, he protects the identity of the protestors and establishes the importance of photography as a witness to historical events.

Other artists and collectives featured in the exhibition include: Mónica Alcázar-Duarte, Syahrul Anuar, Adrian L. Burrell, Cho Hyun-taek, Binh Danh, Colby Deal, Ana Teresa Fernández, Caleb Fung, Joe Harjo, Shona Illingworth, Libuše Jarcovjáková, Ethel Lilienfeld, Mark Menjívar, Zarina Muhammad, Ou Zhihang, Shilo Group, Sao Sreymao, Brad Temkin, and Rafael Vilela.

 

ABOUT FOTOFEST:

FotoFest is dedicated to advancing photography and visual culture through the presentation of exhibitions, public programs, and publications. The examination of social, cultural, and political histories and contemporary life through the lens of photography and related media is central to FotoFest’s mission.

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Exhibition Details

79 works; approx. 8 AV works on 7 monitors, 3 mural-sized prints, 4 daguerreotypes on silver platters, 2 dye sublimation prints on polyester, 52 inkjet prints on dibond, 9 prints on paper

  • Content

    Rental Fee Includes:
    Press Kit
    Registrar’s Packet
    Programming Guide
    Gallery Guide
    Text Panels
    Narrative Labels
    Full Insurance
    Installation Instructions
    Custom-Designed and Built Crates

  • Curated By

    Steven Evans, Executive Director of FotoFest

  • Organized By

    FotoFest

  • Out-of-Region Rental Fee

    $11,500

  • In-Region Rental Fee

    $6,900

  • Duration

    7-week display

  • Shipping

    Van Line

  • Running Feet

    Approximately 250 linear ft. (includes stacking)

  • Square Feet

    --

  • Security

    Standard

  • Number of Crates/Total Weight

    Approximately 8 crates; Weight TBD

  • Insurance

    The exhibition is fully insured by ExhibitsUSA at no additional expense to you, both while installed and during transit.

Tour Schedule

Critical Geography is touring January 2028 through January 2033. The dates below reflect seven-week exhibition periods. Dates are subject to change; please contact MoreArt@maaa.org or (816) 800-0925 for current availability.

Downloads & Resources

Click HERE to view and download the Factsheet for Critical Geography.