More about International Center of Photography

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The International Center of Photography has been bouncing from location to location for years, but now seems to be settled in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

First it was located in a building in Midtown owned by the Durst Organization, where they somehow swung free rent for more than 20 years. Their lease ended (makes sense) and off they went. After they moved out of Midtown, they decided to go to the Bowery, across the street from the New Museum. They did this because the New Museum is ~hip~ and if the International Center of Photography wanted to keep up with the times and keep their attendance up, they had to be doing what the New Museum was doing. This new space, worth $23.5 million, apparently wasn’t up to snuff for the executive director Mark Lubell and the museum announced that they would be moving again, this time to the Lower East Side into Essex Crossing. They sold the Bowery building to make the move, but we can only imagine how much a move like that would cost in New York City.

The museum was founded by Cornell Capa in honor of his brother, Robert Capa, who was perhaps the most famous war photographer of all time. Robert Capa was killed by a land mine while photographing the Indochina War on assignment for Life in 1954, and Cornell decided to dedicate his life to his brother’s memory. This started with an International Fund for Concerned Photography, which by 1974 had turned into the International Center for Photography Museum and School. The institution is dedicated to “the creation of socially and politically minded images that have the potential to educate and change the world.” In their collection are photographs from people like Gerda Taro, Richard Avedon, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Carrie Mae Weems, and Vik Muniz. Go see them here before the museum moves again!

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Here is what Wikipedia says about International Center of Photography

The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey. The organization was founded by Cornell Capa in 1974.

ICP is the host of the Infinity Awards, inaugurated in 1985 "to bring public attention to outstanding achievements in photography by honoring individuals with distinguished careers in the field and by identifying future luminaries."

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