History & Mission

The MoCP is the world’s premier college art museum dedicated to photography.  As an international hub, we generate ideas and provoke dialogue among students, artists and diverse communities through groundbreaking exhibitions and programming. Our mission is to cultivate a deeper understanding of the artistic, cultural and political roles of photography in our world today.

Founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography, the Museum of Contemporary Photography began collecting in the early 1980s and has since grown its collection to include over 16,500 objects by over 1,500 artists. The MoCP is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

Annual Reports

• 2021 Annual Report
• 2020 Annual Report
• 2019 Annual Report
• 2018 Annual Report
• 2017 Annual Report
• 2016 Annual Report
• 2015 Annual Report
• 2014 Annual Report
• 2013 Annual Report
• 2012 Annual Report
• 2011 Annual Report

Advisory Board

Julia Langdon Antonatos
Lisa Bailey
Michael Belsley
Dawoud Bey
Suzette Bross
Veronique Bushala
Marcella David
Kassie Davis
Josh Goldman
John Hass
Bill Hood
Gary I. Levenstein

Faculty Advisory Committee

Janell Baxter, Interactive Arts and Media
Robert Blandford, Business & Entrepreneurship
Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, Communication
Ellen Chenoweth, Dance
Kelli Connell, Photography
Matthew Cunningham, Communication
Joan Giroux, Art and Art History
Robert Hanserd, History
Onur Öztürk, Art and Art History