We live in two image worlds, the one we think we know and the one that exists. The former is organized by truth, fact and information - a society built upon the premise that image=evidence. The new image world has the ability to conjure realness untethered from reality, a place where a compelling image matters more than any indexical truth and where images have the potential to usher in new realities. Amongst the chaos, we can sense that the image world operates differently—and yet it’s unclear exactly how. This one-day salon will explore what contemporary photography is today and what we want it to be. Alongside host Gem Fletcher, guest speakers, including Abdul Kircher, Farah Al Qasimi, Charlie Engman, Sinna Nasseri, Gideon Jacobs and more, will discuss where we stand and propose ideas about what comes next. The day will conclude with a conversation with Kathy Ryan, artist, curator, educator and former Director of Photography for The New York Times Magazine. 11 AM, ICP Library Session 1: On Contemporary Art What is contemporary art today? And what do we want it to be? What we understand an image to be is becoming completely reimagined. As photography slowly loses its utility value as a communication tool, it has the opportunity to be a slippery, strange and miraculous medium of possibilities. From where we stand today, what is the work of art? And what role does photography play in those ideas and gestures? Gem Fletcher is joined by artists Farah Al Qasimi, Charlie Engman and Gideon Jacobs. 1:00 PM, ICP Library Session 2: On Portraiture In a world where there are more cameras than people, what role does portraiture play? Today, we all work for the image matrix. Selfies dominate the infinite scroll, and anyone with a phone shapes representation. Amongst these now dominant modes of self-expression, what is the role of portraiture? How do you make a portrait yours? And when working with people, how do you recognise where there might be potential for a photograph? Gem Fletcher is joined by Caroline Tompkins, Alexander Coggin and Avion Pearce. 3:00 PM, ICP Library Session 3: On Documentary Photography What is a documentary photograph today? And what do we want it to be? Amongst the doom and upheaval that defines life in the 2020s, from political extremism and war, the dizzying technological domination and the profound shifts in perception and attention, the role of documentary photography has never felt so consequential. Amongst this chaos, the protocols of the genre are shifting and new questions are emerging: What happens to documentary photography if we no longer trust in images? How is the changing media landscape impacting how images function? And can new forms of the medium emerge that adequately express the strange, unmappable shape of our present? Gem Fletcher is joined by artists Abdul Kircher, Stacey Kranitz and Sinna Nasseri. 4:30 PM, ICP Library Session 4: On Future Storytelling What is the role of a photographer in today's chaotic media landscape? For three decades, Kathy Ryan, the longtime director of photography at The New York Times Magazine, pioneered her own vision for visual storytelling through masterful commissioning, cross-assignment, blurring boundaries between genres and creating space for photography to be interpretive and elaborate, a powerful voice unto itself. Now, as she enters a new era of her career as an artist, curator and educator, Kathy talks to Gem Fletcher about the future of storytelling and the role of the photographer in preserving history, challenging misinformation, and safeguarding the integrity of our shared narratives. $5 tickets are available and do not include admission to ICP’s museum. Those with museum admission are welcome to join the salon if space is available. Seating is first come, first served, with limited standing room available. About The Messy Truth Podcast Dedicated to the world of contemporary photography, The Messy Truth podcast, hosted by Gem Fletcher features exclusive interviews with emerging and leading artists, curators, editors and critics, exploring the shifting landscape of visual culture and what it means to be a photographer today. Farah Al Qasimi, The Amazon Department Store, 2020

This event is free with museum admission.Join us for a guided walking tour of the exhibitions Graciela Iturbide: Serious Play, Naima Green: Instead, I spin fantasies, and Sergio Larrain: Wanderings, led by a museum educator. About the ExhibitionsGraciela Iturbide: Serious PlayThe first ever retrospective of Iturbide’s work in New York City. This landmark exhibition, organized in collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE and curated by Carlos Gollonet, Chief Curator of Photography at Fundación MAPFRE, features nearly 200 photographs spanning five decades of her groundbreaking career.Iturbide learned photography under renowned Mexican modernist Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Throughout her career, Iturbide traveled extensively throughout Mexico–and beyond–turning her attention to communal life, indigenous communities, and the interactions between nature and culture.Naima Green: Instead, I spin fantasiesThe exhibition grapples with the concept of pregnancy through constructed self-portraits, landscapes and still-lifes—blurring the line between documentary and performance. Green probes the conventional expectations and representational tropes of motherhood, while also creating an expanded space for considering the experience of pregnancy in America.Curated by Guest Curator Elisabeth Sherman, Instead, I spin fantasies brings together dozens of new works, including photographs printed using the historical technologies of albumen and lumen printing processes, along with a site-specific vinyl installation that utilizes the architecture of ICP’s third floor galleries.Sergio Larrain: WanderingsAn exhibition consisting of prints drawn entirely from the Magnum Photos archive. Curated by Agnès Sire, former Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, the exhibition primarily highlights the work Larrain made during the first twenty years of his career, in cities such as Valparaíso, Santiago, Paris and London.Wanderings provides a new perspective on Larrain’s inventive and humanist photography that for decades has remained little seen and seldom exhibited, looking at both the material and spiritual drama of rural and urban life while also charting the subtle evolution of Larrain’s style. Program Format/Accessibility InformationThis is a walking tour of the gallery; no seating is provided. For accessibility questions or requests, please email [email protected]. Image © Gabrielle Ravet

Join Darin Mickey, Creative Practices Chair, and Karen Marshall, Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism Chair, to learn about onsite One-Year Certificate program including program structure, curriculum highlights, faculty, student life, the admissions process, our vibrant community, and more.You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the program chairs and Admissions team.Applications for Fall 2026 are now open!Apply by March 1, 2026 for priority consideration and merit-based scholarship opportunities.ICP’s On-Site One-Year Certificate Programs will begin in mid-August 2026 at our New York City campus.About the Event Format This is an online event held via Zoom. Please register in advance for this free event. If you have questions about the event, please contact [email protected] by ICP alum Nina Tanujaya (CP '23)

Do you have questions about studying at ICP as an international student? Join ICP's International Student Q&A, with International Student Advisors! This info session will cover:What it's like being an international student at ICPAdmission requirements for international studentsForm I-20 & F-1 student visa applications (visa interviews) and your obligations while studying in the United StatesEmployment opportunities while on an F-1 student visa (work-study & post-completion OPT)Applications for Fall 2026 are now open!Apply by March 1, 2026 for priority consideration and merit-based scholarship opportunities.ICP’s On-Site One-Year Certificate Programs will begin in mid-August 2026 at our New York City campus.About the Event Format This is an online event held via Zoom. Please register in advance for this free event. If you have questions about the event, please contact [email protected]. Image by ICP One-Year Program alum Evelyn Sosa

Join us at ICP for a screening of Gioncarlo Valentine: Exposures, directed by Zeshawn Ali, exploring Valentine’s practice through the lens of compassion, community, and creative drive. Following the screening, Valentine will be joined in conversation by writer Casey Gerald.About the FilmIn Exposures, Gioncarlo Valentine’s lush and tender photography is on full display. For his work as a queer Black photographer from Baltimore, he has dedicated his career towards creating an archive of everyday moments to honor the beauty of his community. But as his profile as a photographer grows, he reckons with the increased visibility and what it means for the work he creates. This film was commissioned by the "In the Making" Series –– a documentary shorts series from American Masters and Firelight Media –– which follows emerging cultural icons on their journeys to becoming masters of their artistic disciplines.Runtime: 18 min.About the SpeakersGioncarlo Valentine (b. 1990) is an award-winning American photographer and writer from Baltimore City. His photographs have been collected by the Whitney Museum of American Art and he has been commissioned by Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, The New Yorker, and Scientific American among many others.Casey Gerald is the author There Will Be No Miracles Here, named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and The New York Times, among others. His critically-acclaimed essays include “The Black Art of Escape” for New York Magazine, and “Leon Bridges After Dark,” for Texas Monthly. Casey has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, at TED and SXSW, in Italian Vogue, and on the cover of Fast Company, which named him one of the "Most Creative People in Business." He is at work on his forthcoming book, The Great Refusal, to be published May 2026 by Little, Brown. Image by Gioncarlo Valentine

Connect with ICP's community during our monthly Cameras and Coffee social meet-up for photographers, collectors, and camera enthusiasts! During the event, grab freshly brewed coffee by Deadbeat Club and pastries, available for purchase in the ICP café.Cameras and Coffee is held at ICP in our cafe the second Saturday of each month. This event is free to attend with RSVP. Image by Scott Rudd

This event is free with museum admission.Join us for a guided walking tour of the exhibitions Graciela Iturbide: Serious Play, Naima Green: Instead, I spin fantasies, and Sergio Larrain: Wanderings, led by a museum educator. About the ExhibitionsGraciela Iturbide: Serious PlayThe first ever retrospective of Iturbide’s work in New York City. This landmark exhibition, organized in collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE and curated by Carlos Gollonet, Chief Curator of Photography at Fundación MAPFRE, features nearly 200 photographs spanning five decades of her groundbreaking career.Iturbide learned photography under renowned Mexican modernist Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Throughout her career, Iturbide traveled extensively throughout Mexico–and beyond–turning her attention to communal life, indigenous communities, and the interactions between nature and culture.Naima Green: Instead, I spin fantasiesThe exhibition grapples with the concept of pregnancy through constructed self-portraits, landscapes and still-lifes—blurring the line between documentary and performance. Green probes the conventional expectations and representational tropes of motherhood, while also creating an expanded space for considering the experience of pregnancy in America.Curated by Guest Curator Elisabeth Sherman, Instead, I spin fantasies brings together dozens of new works, including photographs printed using the historical technologies of albumen and lumen printing processes, along with a site-specific vinyl installation that utilizes the architecture of ICP’s third floor galleries.Sergio Larrain: WanderingsAn exhibition consisting of prints drawn entirely from the Magnum Photos archive. Curated by Agnès Sire, former Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, the exhibition primarily highlights the work Larrain made during the first twenty years of his career, in cities such as Valparaíso, Santiago, Paris and London.Wanderings provides a new perspective on Larrain’s inventive and humanist photography that for decades has remained little seen and seldom exhibited, looking at both the material and spiritual drama of rural and urban life while also charting the subtle evolution of Larrain’s style. Program Format/Accessibility InformationThis is a walking tour of the gallery; no seating is provided. For accessibility questions or requests, please email [email protected]. Image © Gabrielle Ravet