CHICAGO, IL.- The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) presents Collaboration: A Potential History of Photography in Dialogue with the MoCP Collection from May 30 – August 16, 2025, co-curated by photographers Wendy Ewald and Susan Meiselas, art historian Laura Wexler, and MoCP Curator of Academic Programs and Collections, Kristin Taylor.

This exhibition is an extension of the publication titled Collaboration: A Potential History of Photography, published by Thames & Hudson in 2024 and organized by Ewald, Meiselas, and Wexler, along with scholars Ariella Aïsha Azoulay and Leigh Raiford. The publication is one part of a much larger, long-term undertaking (over fifteen years of investigation) in which these authors have collectively examined photographic projects over the course of history to dive deeper into notions of authorship, visibility, and power. Looking at both artists’ statements and interviews with those depicted in photographs, they question what was happening both at and outside of the pictured moment: Did both sides remember the instance in the same way? How did the photographed person feel about the photograph’s lifespan after it circulated through art markets, print media, and online? And what role might the photograph have played in perpetuating narratives about specific histories, places, or individuals?

The exhibition features 80 works by 29 artists, with the majority of the works pulled from the MoCP permanent collection. Select artists featured include Endia Beal (American, b. 1985), Dawoud Bey (American b. 1953), Nona Faustine (American, b. 1977-2025), LaToya Ruby Fraiser (American, b. 1982), Jim Goldberg (American, b. 1953), Alfredo Jaar (American, b. 1956 Chile), Nikki S. Lee (U.S. resident, b. 1970 Korea), Sally Mann (American, b. 1951), and Joel Sternfeld (American, b. 1944). On view next to the photographs are quotes from the artist, the people photographed, and interpreters of the images. These observations go beyond the typical artist’s or curator’s analysis to indicate a broader account of the photographed moment.

“The exhibition shifts away from wall texts that feature one authoritative interpretation of the photographs,” said exhibition co-curator Kristin Taylor. “It instead presents multiple perspectives on the significance of the photograph or the moment of its creation. In doing so, we invite audiences to consider photography as shaped by the labor of many, with stories that remain unfixed.”