New York, NY—The International Center of Photography (ICP) announced that the ICP 50th anniversary celebration kicks off on January 24, 2024. That date marks the opening of ICP at 50: From the Collection, 1860–2019 as well as David Seidner: Fragments, 1977–99.
Starting a yearlong celebration of ICP’s 50th anniversary, both exhibitions and subsequent anniversary programming will highlight how ICP’s evolution parallels that of photography as a medium, as a technology and as a powerful cultural, political, and social force. The exhibits will take place from January 26 to May 6, 2024.
“This year, ICP will celebrate photography as a powerful interdisciplinary art form, photographers as artists who reimagine the medium as well as ICP as an institution that brings this creative medium and the public together,” said David E. Little, executive director of ICP. “If people thought they knew ICP before, their experience of ICP at 50 and David Seidner will redefine what they understand about ICP as an institution and as a source for exploring photography and its impact on our lives.”
ICP 50th Anniversary Celebration
ICP at 50: From the Collection, 1860–2019 is the first survey of the International Center of Photography’s extensive holdings in its new Lower East Side home at 79 Essex Street. It will present more than 150 works spanning nearly 160 years of photography from ICP’s archive.
Moreover, the exhibit will chronicle photography’s development from its origins to the present. In addition, the exhibit will showcase the work of pivotal photographers. They will include Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Weegee, Gordon Parks, Louise Lawler, Laurie Simmons, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Susan Meiselas, Robert Mapplethorpe, Samuel Fosso, Mickalene Thomas, Jess T. Dugan, Deana Lawson and more. It will also offer insight into the breadth and depth of ICP’s collection with historically critical images and media. This will include images taken of the surface of the moon by NASA in 1966, as well as activist posters from the 1980s and ’90s groups ACT UP New York and Gran Fury.
“Photography featured this year reinforces how photographers are the historians of their and our times. They challenge us to confront questions about who we are as individuals and as a society. And who we want to be,” added Little. “ICP at 50 and David Seidner celebrate ICP’s commitment to the great diversity, accessibility and complexity of image making. And how as an institution, we will continue to follow its many emerging forms and its ongoing impact on human experience. We invite the public to join us in this celebration as we continue to shape the present and future of photography and ICP together.”
David Seidner: Fragments, 1977–99
Furthermore, this exhibit is the first major survey of Seidner’s work. He was known for capturing avant-garde fashion of the 1980s and 1990s by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent—with whom Seidner had an exclusive contract with at age 22—and Madame Grès. Seidner was also a prolific editorial photographer. His work appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Harper’s & Queen, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair as well as international editions of Vogue.
In addition to commercial and editorial work, Seidner was committed to his own practice. Consequently, the exhibition will present lesser-known highlights, including his early fine art photography and fragmented portrait studies. It will also comprise images of groundbreaking dancers and choreographers, as well as portraits of contemporary artists and their studios. What’s more, it will highlight images from his final project, abstracted studies of orchids.
Though Seidner’s work has largely faded from view since his passing from AIDS-related illnesses in 1999, the exhibition will present the complexity of his career. It will feature his vibrant fashion and editorial photography as well as his artistic experimentations and documentation of the New York art world. The work on view will draw predominantly from Seidner’s archive. While a part of ICP’s collection since 2001, it has rarely exhibited.
“Even though he photographed with and for the leading fashion designers of his time, Seidner was an artist who made work no matter where it appeared or how it circulated,” said Elisabeth Sherman, ICP’s senior curator and director of Exhibitions and Collections. “This survey introduces Seidner’s practice and represents ICP’s willingness to engage with photographers as artists whose art is not as easily categorized as others, causing it to often go under acknowledged or unappreciated. We are proud to present the first comprehensive survey of Seidner’s work.”
International Center of Photography 
The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Cornell Capa founded ICP in 1974 to champion “concerned photography”—socially and politically minded images that can educate and change the world. Through exhibitions, education programs, community outreach as well as public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. Further, since its inception, ICP has presented more than 700 exhibitions, provided thousands of classes and hosted a wide variety of public programs.
ICP launched its new integrated center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in January 2020. Located at 79 Essex Street, ICP is the cultural anchor of Essex Crossing. It is one of the most anticipated and expansive mixed-use developments in New York City. ICP pays respect to the original stewards of this land, the Lenape people, and other Indigenous communities.
For more information about these exhibitions and related 50th anniversary events, click here.
