2016 marks the Museum of Contemporary Photography's (MoCP) 40th anniversary. In celebration, the spring exhibition MoCP at 40 will draw from the museum’s permanent collection of over 13,000 works to explore the institution’s role as a hub of photographic research and education.

Arranged chronologically from the late 19th century to today, the opening installation will span major developments in the photographic medium as it intersects with historical moments in politics, culture, and art. Works by renowned artists including Diane Arbus, Roy DeCarava, Walker Evans, Sally Mann, and Andy Warhol will be on view along with over one hundred others. In an adjacent gallery, rarely seen correspondence and ephemera from the past four decades will give insight into individual artists’ photographs and collaborations with the museum. MoCP at 40 is organized collaboratively by MoCP staff members with assistance from graduate and undergraduate interns studying at Columbia College Chicago.

MoCP at 40 will highlight the breadth of photographic processes represented in the collection, from analogue methods dating back to the invention of the medium, to contemporary cutting edge techniques. Also on view will be a selection of works from the Midwest Photographer’s Project (MPP), including a site-specific installation by Chicago-based artist Aimée Beaubien. Inaugurated in 1982 MPP is a rotating collection of portfolios loaned to the MoCP for a three year period by prominent and emerging artists from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The MoCP is committed to broadening the visual arts by constantly searching for new national and international talent to exhibit. To this end, the museum’s programming guides the public to a greater understanding of thought-provoking contemporary photography as well as an appreciation for traditional work that has not yet received critical acclaim.  

MoCP at 40 runs January 28 – April 10, 2016. Exhibition details and event information available at mocp.org

The annual winter gala to benefit the museum, DARKROOM, takes place Thursday, February 25 at Morgan Manufacturing. Details here. 

Pictured above: Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled #2451, 1990