FOTOWeek DC in Full Swing

 FOTOWeek DC started on the 6th of November, and is in full swing through this week, including exhibits all over DC and the suburbs, involving large-scale projections of work onto public buildings and shows at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery as well as a whole slew of shows in private galleries and other venues.

For daily updates go here.

This year, the Corcoran Gallery is the center of events, with several shows of photography, including displays of winning work in a number of contests sponsored by FOTOWeek DC. These include winners of work by younger photographers as well as several categories of work by us older folks. For winners, go here,  here,  and here.

Good to see Raleigh's Jimmy Williams featured as winner of the Commercial category for work he made for the NC Department of Tourism.  Also good to see the show in Gallery 31 of work by recent graduates of the Corcoran College of Art + Design, including work by Charlotte photographer Andy McMillan.

Andy shows work from his portfolio documenting the current state of Charlotte's Heritage USA, the Christian Theme Park developed by Jim and Tammy Faye Baker that fell onto hard times after Jim got caught in bed with a staff member. Some of the land has been turned into commercial real estate developments, including the houses pictured in Andy's photograph, above.

On topics not directly Southern, but well worth checking out if you are in DC, are the major shows, including two that integrate photography and paintings into larger surveys of art and cultural display. These include the National Gallery's show of paintings and photographs,  The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875 (now up through January 30, 2011) and the show at the National Portrait Gallery, HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture ( through February 13, 2011), which explores art's uses of secrecy and disclosure in the treatment of same-sex relationships.

There is also a big show of Lee Friedlander's work at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Blake Gopnick of the Washington Post is doing a great job of reviewing the major events of FOTOWeek DC this year. You can find his reviews here.