This year, the Museum of Contemporary Photography turns 50 years old. Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, the MoCP has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists, representing a broad scope of aesthetics, technologies, and processes. The variety of work collected has allowed the museum to engage in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes.

To celebrate this milestone, MoCP at Fifty examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection, presenting a range of rarely exhibited and newly acquired works. Together, these selections question and reflect on the role of cultural institutions in shaping the photographic canon. Each of the five galleries represent a decade of collecting, beginning with the most recent acquisitions (2016-2026) in the first gallery, then moving backwards through time.

Uta Barth, Field #3, 1995; printed 2021. 2021:244