FOCI Photography Program

FOCI is the Qatar America Institute for Culture’s photography program that utilizes the creative lens to highlight and capture cultural narratives from the United States and the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Why “FOCI?” Foci (foh-kai) is the plural of the Latin word “focus” which means the “center of interest or activity.” It is with the use of a camera lens that selected participants will capture the essence of their subject, but it is with their ability that they will creatively depict the unique annual theme, or focus, of the program to be exhibited alongside a diverse selection of photographs.

FOCI 2022

This year’s FOCI photography contest theme will focus on the importance of water in our daily lives as humanity faces ever greater water scarcity. The United Nations estimates that half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025. In order to bring greater attention to this issue, submitted photographs should take creative liberties with this year’s theme to best capture the beauty, power, and fragility of water. The selected photos will be featured on QAIC’s social media & publicly displayed at QAIC for World Water Week beginning on August 23, 2022.

To enter this year’s contest, please upload your photographs to Instagram and tag our organizational account at “@QatarAmerica” with the hashtag #FOCI2022.

The last day for submissions is Monday, August 15th, 2022.

This year’s FOCI is in partnership with ConocoPhillips

FOCI 2021

In 2021, FOCI celebrated #WorldPhotoDay through “Road to Reopening”. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to be a dominating force for many globally, 2021’s captures focused on how nations across the world contended and persevered in the face of the pandemic as they move slowly towards reopening society. We encouraged all participants to take creative liberties with the theme and capture how societies and people across the world are slowly getting back to normal.

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Past Programs

Our 2019 Selected Photographers

2019 FOCI Photography Program

The 2019 FOCI Program was Qatar America Institute for Culture’s inaugural photography competition that aimed at highlighting and championing the U.S.-Qatar relationship and cultural ties through the lens of creative photography. The 2019 FOCI Program called on photographers to enter their interpretation of the U.S.-Qatar four-decade-long partnership in an artistic and storytelling form.

The first-place winner of the 2019 FOCI Photography Program was the submission “Red, White, and Blue” by Oscar Rialubin, followed by the second-place winning submission “He Eats Alone – Not” by Noman Quadri. Both Oscar and Noman were able to travel to Washington, DC to celebrate the culmination of the first ever FOCI Program with a public evening reception attended by members of DC’s art scene and two of FOCI’s judges, Zach Houghton and Shuran Huang.