“MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades” features more than 100 works from the museum’s permanent collection that trace five decades of collecting.

The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago opens “MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades” on Monday, January 26, 2026, and will be on view through May 16, 2026. This exhibition marks the museum’s 50th anniversary by featuring more than 100 artworks from the museum’s permanent collection representing five decades of acquisitions.   

Artists represented include Joel Sternfeld, Barbara Crane, Carrie Mae Weems, Dayanita Singh, Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Bob Thall, Carlotta Corpron, and others. Together, the works reflect the breadth of the Museum of Contemporary Photography’s collecting practices since its founding in 1976, with the acquisition of its first artwork in 1979 marking an important milestone in the museum’s evolution as a collecting institution. 

Organized across five galleries, “MoCP at Fifty” is structured by decade, beginning with the most recent acquisitions from 2016–2026 and moving backward through time. The exhibition presents a mix of rarely exhibited works and newly acquired pieces, offering a view of how the collection has developed over the years. 

Companion programs are scheduled throughout the duration of the exhibition including Lectures in Photography with Joel Sternfeld on February 26; Bob Thall on March 11; and Carla Williams on May 6. Lectures in Photography is co-sponsored by MoCP and Columbia’s School of Visual Arts. MoCP programs are always free and open to the public. For more information, visit mocp.org. 

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