The Museum of Contemporary Photography Celebrates 45-Year Milestone with Virtual Programming and Events

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Members of the public can participate in the MoCP's upcoming programming in-person or online.

In the world of contemporary art museums, The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago is a rarity. Nestled in the shadow of Chicago’s most iconic buildings sits a pride of the city— the only museum in the Midwest dedicated to the art of photography. Now celebrating its 45th year of operation, the MoCP has distinguished itself as a tri-level museum with an outsized reputation for living at the cutting edge of art and innovation.

While the pandemic has created uncertainty for many industries, including museums, it has also opened windows of opportunities. For the past 45 years, the MoCP has been confined to its physical space on Columbia's campus at 600 South Michigan Ave. Now, its exhibits and events can now be experienced virtually by visitors from around the globe.

Members of the public can participate in the museum’s upcoming programming in-person or online.

  • In the museum’s current exhibit, Reproductive: Health, Fertility, and Agency, artists explore the psychological, physical, and emotional realities people encounter in the years leading up to, during, and after fertility. The exhibition features eight women who bring to light issues ranging from pleasure to childbirth, disparities in health care, trauma, and the loss of fertility. Open now through May 13, 2021. Reservationsfor in-person viewing must be made in advance. Virtual programming for this exhibit can be found online here: http://www.iart-gallerywalks.com/MoCP/Reproductive/index.htm 

  • Much Unseen is Also Here is a collaboration between the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago. The exhibition is part of Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and The MacArthur Fellows Program at 40 initiative, organized by the Smart Museum of Art in collaboration with exhibition, programmatic, and research partners across Chicago. Open June 3 through Aug. 29, 2021.

  • Photos at Zoom is a webinar series which explores different topics relating to photography. Recordings of past sessions, PDF guides to images discussed, and upcoming event information can be found online.

  • Each semester Columbia’s Photography Department, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Photography, invites three distinguished photography-based artists present a lecture, free to the general public, in a series called "Lectures in Photography," which is the longest running photography lecture program in the country. Live sessions and rebroadcasts are available with registration. 

The full feature story on the Museum of Contemporary Photography’s 45th anniversary is available on our website, Colum.edu.

If you would like to get in contact with any of the artists featured in the current exhibits, please contact Executive Director of the MoCP, Natasha Egan (MA ’98, MFA ’98), at negan@colum.edu. For more information about upcoming museum events, visit MOCP.org.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Keisha Cowen
Senior Director of Campus Communications
kcowen@colum.edu
312-369-7025

Natasha Egan
Executive Director, Museum of Contemporary Photography
negan@colum.edu

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