Inside Sense of Tomorrow, Where Ten Emerging Artists Learn From HATSUE and Feature at FotoFocus

What kind of future do young people want?

It is a question adults often ask, policymakers debate, and institutions attempt to anticipate. Yet the most honest answers rarely come from outside observers. They come from the young people who will inherit that future and help shape it.

This fall, ten emerging artists are doing exactly that.

As part of the 2026 FotoFocus Biennial, The Long View, 1001 Colors presents Sense of Tomorrow, an exhibition featuring work developed by Gallery Fellows Alex Albrecht, Madison Burnett, Bennett Draper, AJ Harris, Kamaire Jones, Nolan Lively, Roan Regnier, Aaliyah Sansone, Malachi White, and Vivienne Yan during an intensive eight-week residency led by artist-in-residence HATSUE. Together, they explored memory, identity, belonging, curiosity, and possibility through photography, cyanotype, collage, and other forms of image-making.

For these artists, Sense of Tomorrow represents more than an exhibition. It is the opportunity to learn alongside an accomplished artist, create original work in a professional environment, and present their voices as part of one of the most significant photography and lens-based arts events in the region.

HATSUE approaches photography as a tool for understanding the world. Her work explores themes of cultural connection and belonging, but at its core is a deep curiosity about people and the systems they navigate.

Throughout the residency, that curiosity became an invitation. Fellows were encouraged to explore questions rather than seek answers. Through journaling, critiques, experimentation, and dialogue, they examined the people who shaped them, the experiences that define them, and the futures they imagine.

“This exhibition asks what kind of future do young people want because that's the question I believe matters the most,” HATSUE says. “If we do not have people who deeply care for the future, then there is no future to be had.”

The process was intentionally personal. Fellows revisited childhood memories, reflected on present realities, and explored aspirations, fears, and hopes for what comes next. In doing so, they discovered that understanding the future often begins with understanding the past.

For Gallery Fellow Roan Regnier, the journey began with a journaling exercise. One emotion surfaced repeatedly, admiration for older siblings. That reflection evolved into a photographic exploration of childhood, memory, and the passage of time.

As Regnier recreated environments from childhood and examined how they had changed, a central question emerged: Does the world I grew up in still exist?

“I hope my work reminds audience members that the world we grew up in is not lost; it has simply aged,” says Regnier. “It takes a keen eye to recognize the decay as growth.”

Gallery Fellow Madison Burnett arrived at the residency carrying a different connection to photography, one rooted in family history. A camera passed down across generations became a lens through which to examine memory, relationships, and identity.

Her series, 30 Minutes Home, explores the lives of friends across an ambiguous landscape of time, documenting who they are, who they have been, and who they hope to become.

“I don't want to imagine a future where we cease to engage with our curiosity,” Burnett says.

Through distinctly different approaches, both artists arrived at a similar truth: the future is inseparable from the relationships, experiences, and moments that shape us.

What emerges from Sense of Tomorrow is not a single vision of the future, but a chorus of them. Some works look backward, toward family, childhood, and memory. Others look outward, toward community, identity, and belonging. Together, they show how young artists make meaning from the world they have inherited while imagining the one they want to help build. Presented as part of FotoFocus, the exhibition places those visions in a broader conversation, reminding audiences that the long view must include the people who will carry it forward.

Sense of Tomorrow Opening Reception
Friday, September 25, 2026
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Location:
1001 Colors 
2429 Gilbert Ave
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206

RSVP

Exhibition Dates: September 25 – November 4, 2026

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday-Friday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Saturday, October 10: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Sense of Tomorrow is presented by V2: Sara & Michelle Vance Waddell and Ron & David Houck-Nebel, with additional support from the Johnson Foundation.

Bold Art. Bright Futures.

At 1001 Colors, we believe creativity creates opportunity. Our mission is to produce world-class public art and creative projects that employ and develop youth, strengthen communities, and support artists at every stage.

The Gallery Fellowship embodies that commitment. Fellows do not simply learn about artistic careers. They experience them. Alongside accomplished mentors and peers, they create original work, receive professional feedback, develop artist statements, prepare exhibitions, and gain firsthand knowledge about the creative economy.

These are pathways, not programs. Doors, not destinations.

By investing in emerging artists today, we help cultivate the creative leaders, storytellers, entrepreneurs, and cultural contributors of tomorrow.