Name: Critical Focus: Photography and Institutional Futures
Start: 2026-10-06T17:30
End: 2026-10-06T19:30
Location: Theater 2

Lecture/panel

Tue, Oct 6, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

Free, registration or RSVP required

Christopher Williams. Cutaway model Nikon EM. 2008. Shutter: Electronically governed Seiko metal blade shutter vertical travel with speeds from 1/1000 to 1 second with a manual speed of 1/90th; meter: Center-weighted Silicon Photo Diode, ASA 25-1600, EV2-18 (with ASA film and 1.8 lens), Aperture Priority automatic exposure; lens mount: Nikon F mount, AI coupling, (and later) only; flash: Synchronization at 1/90 via hot shoe, Flash automation with Nikon SB-E or SB-10 flash units; focusing: K type focusing screen, not user interchangeable, with 3mm diagonal split image rangefinder; batteries: Two PX-76 or equivalent, 5.3 × 3.38 × 2.13" (135 × 86 × 54 mm). Photography by the Douglas M. Parker Studio, Glendale, California, September 9, 2007–September 13, 2007. Chromogenic print. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Helen Kornblum in honor of Roxana Marcoci and Committee on Photography Fund. © 2026 Christopher Williams

Our latest Forum on Contemporary Photography, titled Critical Focus: Photography and Institutional Futures, examines how contemporary curatorial frameworks are redefining photography amid profound cultural, technological, and political transformation. Bringing together an international constellation of curators and museum leaders, this convening considers not only how photography is exhibited and interpreted, but also how institutions themselves must evolve in response to rapidly shifting visual ecologies and image-making practices.

We are delighted to be joined by
Karin van Gilst, Director, Foam Photography Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Clare Grafik, Head of Exhibitions, The Photographers’ Gallery (London, England)
Bandile Gumbi, Head, Market Photo Workshop (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Jung Hee Han, Director, Photography Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, South Korea)
Thyago Nogueira, Head of Contemporary Photography, Instituto Moreira Salles, and editor, ZUM photography magazine (São Paulo, Brazil)
Jil Weinstock, Executive Director, Baxter Street Camera Club (New York, New York)

Cofounded by curators Roxana Marcoci and Eva Respini on February 16, 2010, and conceived as an experimental platform for free-form critical discussions, MoMA’s forums on contemporary photography are designed to encourage debate about the perspectives and scope of still and moving images and other forms of picture-making among leading artists, curators, and theorists in the field. The creative process of today is not solitary but dynamic, evolving from countless partnerships. These forums offer an intellectual milieu that values the scholarly reassessment of pivotal ideas in art, innovative practices, and complex and competing visions of modern and contemporary art.

Roxana Marcoci, The David Dechman Senior Curator and Acting Chief Curator of Photography, The Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography, MoMA, begins each session with an introduction to the topic, providing context for the conversation. Four to seven featured speakers then present for five to 10 minutes each. The presentations are followed by a probing, critical Q&A session and a moderated discussion with all the guests.

Read an article about the Forums from Art in America.

This Forum on Contemporary Photography is organized by Roxana Marcoci, Acting Chief Curator and The David Dechman Senior Curator of Photography, and Caitlin Ryan, Assistant Curator, The Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography.

The Forums on Contemporary Photography are made possible through the Peter C. Bunnell Fund.

This event is part of Forums on Contemporary Photography.

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