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International Center of Photography

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At a Glance

Time Needed: 60 min.

Ages: All

Allows Food/Drink: No

Luggage Storage: No

The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a must-see destination for anyone interested in photography and its cultural significance. Located in New York City, the ICP is a leading institution that offers a comprehensive range of photography-related exhibits and educational programs. A tourist would want to visit the ICP to experience its world-renowned exhibits that feature the works of both emerging and established photographers. The ICP's collections span a wide range of genres, from documentary and fine art photography to photojournalism and commercial photography, providing visitors with a rich and diverse experience. In addition to its exhibitions, the ICP offers educational programs that cater to both beginners and professionals. These programs include workshops, lectures, and tours that are designed to help visitors improve their photography skills and deepen their understanding of the art form. The International Center of Photography offers a unique and enriching experience for anyone who wants to learn more about photography and its cultural significance. It is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the art form or looking for inspiration from some of the world's leading photographers.

79 Essex St, New York, NY 10002 Get Directions





International Center of Photography Videos

Caryl S. Englander is ICP's 2024 Infinity Award Honoree in the Trustees category. The ICP Infinity Awards honor and celebrate major achievements in photography and visual art. The event is ICP's largest fundraiser and benefits its full range of education and exhibition programs. The 2024 Awards celebrate five incredible women who have had significant impact on the field of photography. Caryl S. Englander is an accomplished documentary and portrait photographer. She has served as Chair of the International Center of Photography since 2008, having joined the Board a decade earlier. Her exceptional leadership has guided ICP through a period of tremendous growth and international recognition. Among her many contributions to the success of the institution today is securing ICP’s exciting new location on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, housing the school and museum in one integrated space. In recognition of this accomplishment, the structure has been named The Caryl S. Englander Building. A graduate of the ICP/NYU Master’s program, Ms. Englander’s photographs have formed the core of several exhibitions, including “Acts of Charity, Deeds of Kindness” for the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty in 2005, and “Through the Lens of Faith,” installed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in 2019 in collaboration with the Studio Libeskind. In addition to her leadership positions, she has served on ICP’s Exhibitions, Acquisitions, and Education Committees, and is a fierce advocate for their programming and community engagement.

Lynsey Addario is ICP's 2024 Infinity Award Honoree for Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism. The ICP Infinity Awards honor and celebrate major achievements in photography and visual art. The event is ICP's largest fundraiser and benefits its full range of education and exhibition programs. The 2024 Awards celebrate five incredible women who have had significant impact on the field of photography. Lynsey Addario is an American photojournalist, who has been covering conflict, humanitarian crises, and women’s issues around the Middle East and Africa on assignment for The New York Times and National Geographic for more than two decades. Since September 11, 2001, Addario has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Darfur, South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Syria, and ongoing war in Ukraine. In 2015, American Photo Magazine named Lynsey as one of five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, saying she changed the way we saw the world's conflicts. Addario is the recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur fellowship, she was part of the New York Times team to win a Pulitzer prize for overseas reporting out of Afghanistan Pakistan, an Overseas Press Club's Olivier Rebbot Award, and two Emmy nominations. She holds three Honorary Doctorate Degrees for her professional accomplishments from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bates College in Maine, and University of York in England. In 2015, Addario wrote a New York Times Best selling memoir, "It's What I Do," which chronicles her personal and professional life as a photojournalist coming of age in the post-9/11 world. In 2018, she released her first solo collection of photography, “Of Love and War,” published by Penguin Press.

Renell Medrano is ICP's 2024 Infinity Award Honoree for Commercial and Editorial Photography. The ICP Infinity Awards honor and celebrate major achievements in photography and visual art. The event is ICP's largest fundraiser and benefits its full range of education and exhibition programs. The 2024 Awards celebrate five incredible women who have had significant impact on the field of photography. Renell Medrano is a Dominican-American photographer and director from The Bronx, New York, whose work focuses on finding vulnerability in her subjects, drawing inspiration from New York City and her motherland of the Dominican Republic. She graduated from Parsons School of Design | The New School with a degree in Photography. In 2015, she was awarded “New York Times Lens Blog Award” for her photography series ‘Untitled Youth’, which explored 4 teenage girls living in the Bronx going through adolescence. Her commercial fashion photography has been published in dozens of publications such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, CR Men, and W. She has shot campaigns for various brands, including, Burberry, Gucci and Prada. Medrano has had two solo photography exhibitions. Peluca at MILK studios, New York, and in 2019, Pampara at Gallery Rosenfeld in London. Group shows include 20TK’s “The Next Generation of Bronx Photographers,” Just Pictures and Aperture Foundation’s ground-breaking traveling exhibition, the New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion. In 2022, the artist created the celebrated cover image of Kendrick Lamar’s double-album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers—which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200.

Wendy Red Star is ICP's 2024 Infinity Award Honoree for Contemporary Photography and New Media. The ICP Infinity Awards honor and celebrate major achievements in photography and visual art. The event is ICP's largest fundraiser and benefits its full range of education and exhibition programs. The 2024 Awards celebrate five incredible women who have had significant impact on the field of photography. Wendy Red Star (b.1981, Billings, MT) lives and works in Portland, OR. Red Star has exhibited in the United States and abroad at venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY), Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY), both of which have her works in their permanent collections; Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain (Paris, France), Domaine de Kerguéhennec (Bignan, France), Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), Hood Art Museum (Hanover, NH), St. Louis Art Museum (St. Louis, MO), Minneapolis Institute of Art (Minneapolis, MN), the Frost Art Museum (Miami, FL), among others. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY), the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY), the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth, TX), the Denver Art Museum (Denver, CO), the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College (Clinton, NY), the Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD), the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA), the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (Durham, NC), the Birmingham Museum of Art (Birmingham, AL), the Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, MA), the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY), and the British Museum (London, UK), among others. She served a visiting lecturer at institutions including Yale University (New Haven, CT), the Figge Art Museum (Davenport, IA), the Banff Centre (Banff, Canada), National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia), Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH), CalArts (Valencia, CA), Flagler College (St. Augustine, FL), and I.D.E.A. Space in Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs, CO). In 2017, Red Star was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and in 2018 she received a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. Her first career survey exhibition “Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth” was on view at the Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey through May 2019, concurrently with her first New York solo gallery exhibition at Sargent's Daughters. Red Star holds a BFA from Montana State University, Bozeman, and an MFA in sculpture from University of California, Los Angeles. She is represented by Sargent's Daughters.

Shirin Neshat is ICP's 2024 Infinity Award Honoree for Lifetime Achievement. The ICP Infinity Awards honor and celebrate major achievements in photography and visual art. The event is ICP's largest fundraiser and benefits its full range of education and exhibition programs. The 2024 Awards celebrate five incredible women who have had significant impact on the field of photography. Shirin Neshat is an Iranian-born artist and filmmaker living in New York. Neshat works and continues to experiment with the mediums of photography, video and film, which she imbues with highly poetic and politically charged images and narratives that question issues of power, religion, race, gender and the relationship between the past and present, East and West, individual and collective through the lens of her personal experiences as an Iranian woman living in exile. Neshat has held numerous solo exhibitions at museums internationally including the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; The Broad, Los Angeles; Museo Correr, Venice, Italy; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C. and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Neshat has directed three feature-length films, Women Without Men (2009), which received the Silver Lion Award for Best Director at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, Looking For Oum Kulthum (2017), and most recently Land of Dreams, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival (2021). Neshat was awarded the Golden Lion Award, the First International Prize at the 48th Biennale di Venezia (1999), the Hiroshima Freedom Prize (2005), the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2006) and in 2017, she received the prestigious Praemium Imperiale Award in Tokyo. She is represented by Gladstone Gallery in New York and Goodman Gallery in London.

Writer and curator Helen Molesworth explains her approach to organizing portraits of art world luminaries by three prominent portraitists as part of the International Center of Photography’s exhibition “Face to Face: Portraits of Artists by Tacita Dean, Brigitte Lacombe and Catherine Opie,” which is on view through May 1, 2023. Learn more about the exhibition here: https://bit.ly/3nu13wG Be sure to follow ICP on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icp/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/internationa... Twitter: https://twitter.com/ICPhotog

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International Center of Photography Frequently Asked Questions

What are the closest subway stops to International Center of Photography

The closest subway stops to the International Center of Photography at 79 Essex St in New York City are:

1. Delancey St/Essex St (F, M, J, Z lines) - This station is just a short walk away from the International Center of Photography. You can take the F, M, J, or Z trains to reach this stop. [Click here for subway updates](http://www.mta.info)

2. Bowery (J, Z lines) - Another nearby option is the Bowery station, which is also served by the J and Z trains. From there, it's just a few minutes' walk to the International Center of Photography.

While you're in the area, there are a few other attractions and recommendations you might find interesting:

1. Tenement Museum - Located at 103 Orchard St, the Tenement Museum offers a glimpse into the lives of immigrants who lived in the Lower East Side during the 19th and 20th centuries. It's a fascinating and educational experience.

2. Katz's Delicatessen - Just a few blocks away from the International Center of Photography, Katz's Deli is a New York City institution known for its delicious pastrami sandwiches and classic Jewish deli fare. It's a must-visit for food lovers.

3. The Lower East Side - Take some time to explore the vibrant and trendy Lower East Side neighborhood. You'll find a mix of trendy boutiques, art galleries, bars, and restaurants. It's a great place to soak up the local atmosphere.

I hope you have a fantastic time exploring the International Center of Photography and the surrounding area!


What's the best way to get to International Center of Photography by bus?

The closest bus stops to the International Center of Photography at 79 Essex St in New York City are:

1. Essex St/Grand St: This bus stop is served by the M9 bus. You can check for updates on the M9 bus schedule [here](http://bustime.mta.info/m/index?q=10002).

2. Essex St/Delancey St: This bus stop is served by the M14A and M14D buses. You can check for updates on the M14A and M14D bus schedules [here](http://bustime.mta.info/m/index?q=10002).

Please note that bus schedules and routes are subject to change, so it's always a good idea to check for updates before your trip. Enjoy your visit to the International Center of Photography!


How much time should I plan to spend at International Center of Photography?

The ideal length of time to plan for a visit to the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City can vary depending on your level of interest in photography and the specific exhibitions on display. On average, visitors typically spend around 1 to 2 hours exploring the museum.

If you are a photography enthusiast or have a deep interest in the art form, you may want to allocate more time to fully immerse yourself in the exhibits and take advantage of any guided tours or workshops available. On the other hand, if you have limited time or a more casual interest, a shorter visit can still provide a worthwhile experience.

Keep in mind that the ICP often hosts temporary exhibitions, so it's a good idea to check their website or call ahead to see what's currently on display. This will help you plan your visit accordingly and ensure you don't miss any must-see exhibitions.

Overall, whether you're a photography aficionado or simply curious about the art form, a visit to the International Center of Photography is a fantastic opportunity to explore the world of photography and its impact on our culture.


Can I bring food and drinks into International Center of Photography?

The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a renowned museum and school dedicated to photography and visual culture. While ICP itself does not have a food or drink policy, it is important to note that food and drinks are generally not allowed inside the galleries. This policy helps to preserve and protect the artworks on display.

However, there are several cafes, restaurants, and food vendors located near ICP where you can grab a bite before or after your visit. Some popular options include Shake Shack, Le Pain Quotidien, and The Smith. These establishments offer a variety of cuisines and are within walking distance of the museum.

Additionally, if you're looking for a quick snack or beverage during your visit, ICP has a café on the premises where you can enjoy light refreshments. Just make sure to consume your food and drinks in designated areas and not near the artworks.

Remember, it's always a good idea to check the specific policies of any museum or cultural institution you plan to visit, as they may vary. Enjoy your time at ICP and your culinary adventures in New York City!


Does International Center of Photography offer luggage storage?

The International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City does not have a luggage storage facility. Due to security reasons and limited space, they do not allow visitors to bring large bags or luggage into the museum. It is recommended to leave your bags at your hotel or find a nearby luggage storage service. There are several options available throughout the city, including luggage storage facilities and services that offer secure storage for your belongings while you explore the museum and other attractions.


Is International Center of Photography a good place to visit for foreign travelers who are not native English speakers?

Yes, the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City is a fantastic destination for visitors from other countries and non-English language speakers. The ICP is a renowned museum and school dedicated to the art of photography, offering a wide range of exhibitions and educational programs.

One of the great things about the ICP is that photography is a universal language that transcends barriers of culture and language. The visual nature of photography allows visitors to appreciate the art and storytelling regardless of their language skills.

Additionally, the ICP offers multilingual materials and audio guides in several languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japanese. These resources enhance the visitor experience by providing additional context and information about the exhibitions.

Whether you are a photography enthusiast or simply interested in exploring visual arts, the ICP is a must-visit destination in New York City. It offers a unique and enriching experience for visitors from all over the world, regardless of their language background.


What ages are appropriate for International Center of Photography?

The International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City is a fantastic destination for photography enthusiasts of all ages. While there is no specific age range recommendation, the exhibits and programs at ICP cater to a wide audience, from children to adults. The museum showcases a diverse range of photography collections, including historical and contemporary works, so visitors of all ages can appreciate and learn from the art form. Additionally, ICP offers educational programs and workshops suitable for both kids and adults, making it a great place for families to explore together. So, whether you're a budding photographer or simply have an interest in the medium, ICP is definitely worth a visit during your time in New York City.


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