The Meeting Place 2024 will take place at Silver Street Studios in the Sawyer Yards complex, where FotoFest is headquartered, just north of Downtown Houston.

Silver Street Studios
2000 Edwards Street
Houston, TX 77007

The FotoFest Biennial 2024 exhibitions and many Biennial programs take place at this complex, allowing Meeting Place participants quick, easy, and walkable access to these exhibitions and events. Several restaurants, bars and coffee shops are nearby.

Meeting Place photographers have access to a discounted rate of $189/night + tax at the C. Baldwin Hotel, located in the northwest corner of downtown Houston, just a 5-minute drive from the FotoFest Headquarters and Meeting Place 2024 Portfolio Review venue.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A RESERVATION AT THE C. BALDWIN*

*Please disregard the statement beginning "Daily Mandatory Charge..." regarding internet, restaurant credit and bike rental - this does not apply to our group reservation block, but is not able to be removed from our reservation page.

Bus transportation will be provided between the C. Baldwin Hotel and Silver Street Studios, where the portfolio reviews are held, at regular intervals. While it is not required to stay at the C. Baldwin, it makes your stay significantly more convenient.

Prefer to consider other options? Click here for a list of other nearby hotels in the area.

It is not necessary to have a car to participate in the Meeting Place, to visit FotoFest exhibitions, or to see other select exhibitions in Houston. During the portfolio reviews, FotoFest will provide bus transportation between the C. Baldwin Hotel and Silver Street Studios at regular intervals throughout the day.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Houston's public transportation provider is called METRO.
Silver Street Studios, where the portfolio reviews are held, is most easily accessible by the Houston METRO Bus routes #44 and #85. Both of these bus routes have stops near the C. Baldwin Hotel, and involve a 5-10 minute walk from the bus stop to Silver Street Studios.

For more information on METRO routes, schedules, fares and service alerts, visit www.ridemetro.org.

RIDESHARE
Lyft and Uber both operate in Houston. You can access these rideshare options by downloading the Lyft or Uber app on your smartphone.

EVENING EXHIBITION VISITS & BUS TOURS
On a few evenings each session, FotoFest rents coach buses to take Meeting Place photographers and reviewers to see exhibitions around town at local museums and galleries. This is offered at no additional charge, but space on the bus is limited and first come, first served. Comprehensive schedules of evening events will be sent out ahead of the Meeting Place and daily schedules for evening events will be posted each morning near the portfolio review room.

CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS & OPEN PORTFOLIO WALKS
On one evening per session, FotoFest hosts a Creative Conversation featuring an exhibiting artist in conversation with one expert in the field of photography, followed by an Open Portfolio Walk, an open-house style event where Meeting Place photographers can display their work to local collectors, photography enthusiasts, reviewers, and fellow registrants. Both of these events take place at Silver Street Studios.

Session 1: Monday, March 11
Session 2: Monday, March 18
Creative Conversation: 5:30 pm
Open Portfolio Walk: 7:00 - 9:00 pm

The two "break days" between Session 1 & 2 are Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15. There are no portfolio reviews on these days, but there is other programming you may want to take advantage of.

Thursday, March 14

FREE ADMISSION to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston| 11 am - 9 pm
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston offers free admission for all individuals on Thursdays. Free admission does not include ticketed exhibitions. Please check the MFAH website for more detailed information about ticketing and exhibitions on view.

Guided Tour of the Hirsch Library with Jon Evans, Chief of Libraries and Archives at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
*TICKETED EVENT, REGISTRATION REQUIRED

This guided tour is only accessible to ticket-holders for the professional development seminar Publish Your Photography Book, held on Friday, March 15 (please see below for information on Publish Your Photography Book). Space is very limited, and registration is first-come, first-served. Registration for this guided tour is not yet available - we will announce in advance the date and time that registration will open.

Friday, March 15

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR
Publish Your Photography Book | 9 am - 5:00 pm
*TICKETED EVENT

Led by author, educator and advisor Mary Virginia Swanson, Publish Your Photography Book engages several international leaders in photobook publishing, as well as artists who have been through the process for their own publications. This event comes on the heels of the third edition of Swanson's own publication by the same name, Publish Your Photography Book, which she co-wrote with Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs, Christie's.

Purchasing a ticket to this event does not include admittance to the Guided Tour of the Hirsch Library on Thursday, March 14. Registration for that additional event will be included as an add-on exclusively for Publish Your Photography Book ticket-holders.

TICKETS:
Click here for Meeting Place participant (participant names will be cross-checked to confirm correct ticket purchase)
Click here for General Admission

In February 2024, you will receive a Reviewer Preference form where you will rank the top 25 reviewers you most want to meet with in order of preference. These preferences are entered into a newly revamped proprietary scheduling system that assigns appointments based on each registrant’s top preferences. This scheduling system is not "first come, first served." Instead, it is designed to give every registrant a chance to receive review appointments with their top choice reviewers.

Schedules are sent out to Meeting Place photographers 5 days prior to each review session. FotoFest can not guarantee that you will receive all of your top preferences.

Registrants are guaranteed a minimum of sixteen (16) one-on-one portfolio review appointments per session. You can expect to have 3 - 5 review appointments per day.

Each review appointment lasts 20 minutes.

If you absolutely do not want to meet with a certain reviewer, you will have the option to "block" a limited number of reviewers on your preference form.

As a general rule, we encourage you to meet with all kinds of reviewers, even ones who you may think “can’t do anything for you.” You never know what connections they could make for you, or what opportunities they may have. It is always a good idea to get fresh opinions and perspectives on your work, especially from informed and experienced professionals who may see something you don’t. Be open!

The Meeting Place Registration is NON-TRANSFERABLE. FotoFest will not honor registrations that are sold or traded between registrants. There are no exceptions!

We are continuing to add reviewers on a weekly basis. Cancellations and changes may occur, so check the Meeting Place 2024 Reviewer List webpages regularly for updates.

Session 1 Reviewer List
Session 2 Reviewer List

If there is space available in the Session you want to move into, FotoFest is more than happy to process your request. If you would like to switch which session you have registered for, please email Mariah Rodriguez, Meeting Place Assistant, at mariah@fotofest.org.