Big Tent exhibition explores US democracy through photography at FotoFocus Center

The FotoFocus Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, presents 'Big Tent: American Democracy and the Photographic Image,' a group exhibition examining U.S. democracy through photography. The show features works by 15 photographers spanning from 1956 to 2024, including Robert Frank's 'Political rally, Chicago' (1956), Stanley Forman's 'The Soiling of Old Glory' (1976), and Dawoud Bey's 'Birmingham Project' (2012) and 'Class Pictures' (2006). Larry Sultan's 'Canal District, San Rafael' (2006), Fazal Sheikh's portrait of Jonah Yellowman from the 'Exposure' series (2022), and RaMell Ross's 'Giving Tree' (2012) are also included. Builder Levy's 'I am a Man/Union Justice Now' (1968) documents the Memphis sanitation strike, while Jill Freedman captures 'Monumental Flute' at Resurrection City during the Poor People's Campaign in Washington DC (1968). Marco Anelli's 'First American Portrait: Rogina, Bangladesh' (2018) and Madeleine Hordinski's 'Midwestern Magic' (2024) offer contemporary perspectives. Elaine Mayes photographs Haight-Ashbury in 1968, Mitch Epstein depicts the border wall in Nogales, Arizona (2017), and John Divola presents 'Dogs Chasing My Car in the Desert' (1996-1998). Alyse Emdur's 'Prison Landscapes' (2013) shows a Texas correctional facility, Tabitha Soren's 'Janelle' (2013) and Michael Wilson's 'Brothers' in New Orleans (2010) round out the selection. The exhibition runs through October 2026.