Protests, picket lines and Indigenous pride: examining US democracy – in pictures

Partly inspired by the poem In This Place (An American Lyric) by Amanda Gorman, FotoFocus, a non-profit, has opened its inaugural exhibition at the new FotoFocus Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Titled Big Tent, the show is on view until 22 August 2026 and presents the work of more than 50 artists. The work created by each photographer reflects on the present state of US democracy and demonstrates the power of the image

Dawoud Bey – Birmingham Project: Fred Stewart II and Tyler Collins, 2012

Photograph: Dawoud Bey. Courtesy of Rena Bransten Gallery

Larry Sultan – Canal District, San Rafael, 2006

Photograph: Courtesy of the Estate of Larry Sultan and Casemore Gallery, San Francisco

Fazal Sheikh – Jonah Yellowman (Diné), spiritual adviser to Utah Diné Bikéyah, Cane Valley – Monument Valley, Navajo Nation, from the series Exposure, 2022

Photograph: Fazal Sheikh. Courtesy of the artist

RaMell Ross – Giving Tree, 2012

Builder Levy – I am a Man/Union Justice Now, Memphis, Tennessee, 1968

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Marco Anelli, First American Portrait: Rogina, Bangladesh, 2018

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Robert Frank – Political rally, Chicago, 1956

Photograph: Robert Frank Foundation, from The Americans

Madeleine Hordinski – Midwestern Magic, 2024

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Elaine Mayes – Eugene, Panhandle, Haight-Ashbury, 1968

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Deborah Bell Photographs, New York

Mitch Epstein – Border Wall, Nogales, Arizona, 2017

Photograph: Black River Productions, Ltd. / Mitch Epstein. Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, New York.

John Divola – Dogs Chasing My Car in the Desert, 1996-1998

Photograph: John Divola. Courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York

Dawoud Bey – Class Pictures: Usha, Gateway High School, San Francisco, California, 2006

Photograph: Dawoud Bey. Courtesy of Rena Bransten Gallery

Stanley Forman – The Soiling of Old Glory, 5 April 1976

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Alyse Emdur – Brisio Pintor, Preston E, Smith Unit Correctional Institution, Lamesa, Texas, from Prison Landscapes, 2013

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Tabitha Soren – Janelle, 2013

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Jill Freedman – Monumental Flute, Resurrection City, Poor People’s Campaign, Washington DC, 1968

Photograph: Courtesy of the Estate of Jill Freedman

Michael Wilson – Brothers, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2010

Photograph: Courtesy of the artist