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84 Ludlow Entrance

Photography Lives Here

The International Center of Photography is the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Through exhibitions, education programs, community outreach, and public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image, and is a gathering place for the photography community to meet, exchange ideas, and support one another.

The School at ICP

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Dayanita Singh Picture

Dayanita Singh

ICP Alum & Infinity Award Winner
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Ian Lewandowski

Ian Lewandowski

ICP Faculty
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Jon Henry Picture

Jon Henry

ICP Faculty
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Keisha Scarville Picture

Keisha Scarville

ICP Alum and Faculty
Applications Open for Fall 2025 Full-time Programs

The School at ICP was established in 1977 and services more than 3,500 adult and teen students annually.

Full-Time Programs

Part-Time Programs

Open Education

Youth Programs

Partner Programs

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Students working in a photo studio

Support Education at ICP

The School at ICP is home to a vibrant learning community made possible by the generous support of donors and members. Support our efforts to open more scholarship opportunities and welcome learning practitioners from all over the city, country, and world.

Upcoming Events

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Admissions Team Q&A—One-Year Certificate Programs
Join our Admissions Team for an online info session to learn more about ICP’s One-Year Certificate Programs, including academic structure, program formats, and tips for submitting a strong application. This session will cover all five of our certificate programs:Creative Practices (Onsite, NYC)Documentary Practice & Visual Journalism (Onsite, NYC)Documentary Practice: Visual Storytelling (Online)Curatorial Practice in Photography (Online)Writing and the Photographic Image (Online)We’ll discuss key components of each program, what makes a successful application, and how to prepare for the upcoming admissions cycle.Applications for the 2026 Academic Year Are Now Open. The priority deadline for merit-based scholarship consideration is October 19, 2026. ICP’s Online One-Year Certificate Programs begin in mid-January 2026.About the Event FormatThis is an online event held via Zoom. If you have questions, please contact: [email protected].
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ICP Cafe, People laughing and chatting
Cameras and Coffee: Community Meet-Up (August 2025)
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.
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Family Art Hour
Explore ICP and make art during this hands-on family workshop led by educator Carlos Nunez. Learn about the museum during an introductory tour of the exhibitions, then join the hands-on art activities accessible for all ages. All ages 4 and up are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children during the activity.
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In Conversation – “War Threads” with Oksana Parafeniuk and Sara Ickow
Join us online with Sara Ickow, ICP’s Associate Director of Exhibitions and photographer Oksana Parafeniuk for a discussion based on Parafeniuk’s project War Threads, on view in ICP’s free first floor Incubator Space through August 19, 2025.About the ICP Incubator SpaceICP’s Incubator Space is a new flexible program centered around showing the work of emerging photographers who are responding in real time to the world around us. ICP will present a rotating selection of projects in our ground floor project space by an imagemaker experimenting and pushing boundaries in the documentary tradition. ICP’s Incubator Space is located on the ground floor in the ICP cafe. The space is free and open to the public during cafe and museum hours.About War ThreadsPhotojournalist Oksana Parafeniuk was six months pregnant when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. In the three years since, she and her husband, also a photojournalist, have lived with their toddler son in Kyiv, a city heavily impacted by the war. They continue to document the war for global news outlets, creating a vital historical record. Bringing together documentary images with family archive and embroidered images, this presentation tells the story of how one photographer is impacted as a journalist, a mother, and a citizen during a moment of turmoil for her country.Much of Parafeniuk’s documentary work from this period highlights Ukrainian women and post-invasion, stories that are often overlooked in the dominant media narratives. The resulting images tell a nuanced story and are presented here in dialogue with family photographs of life under the invasion, as well as works from a series experimenting with embroidery on some of these images. The series, titled War Threads, uses camouflage-colored threads to pierce paper as a metaphor for how Russian influence has penetrated every aspect of daily life in Ukraine. Through these interventions, the artist references the constant interruptions of air raid sirens, blackouts, and explosions, underscoring how family memories are forever altered by war. About the SpeakersOksana Parafeniuk (she/her) is an independent photographer based in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she is exploring the manifestations of human resilience and dignity among people facing hardships.In addition to her personal projects, Oksana has worked with and published her work in The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, NBC News, Libération and many others. She took part in multiple group exhibitions in Ukraine, as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United States and other countries. She is a member of Women Photograph and The Journal Collective.Sara Ickow is the Associate Direcotor of Exhibitions and Collections at the International Center of Photography and manages exhibitions and special projects for Women Photograph. Previously, she worked as a curatorial assistant and collections manager with the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. She holds an MA in art history from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. © Oksana Parafeniuk, from the series War Threads, 2024
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Summer 2025 Exhibitions Tour
This event is free with museum admission.Join us for a guided walking tour of the exhibitions Edward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration and Sheida Soleimani: Panjereh, led by a museum educator.About the ExhibitionsEdward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration The first solo institutional exhibition of world-renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky’s work in New York City in over twenty years, The Great Acceleration reveals the depth of Burtynsky's investigation into the human alteration of natural landscapes around the world, revealing both their present fragility and enduring beauty.This retrospective features over seventy photographs—including many of Burtynsky’s landmark images, some never before exhibited—alongside three ultra high-resolution murals and a visual and narrative timeline of his creative life. The Great Acceleration serves as both an urgent call for environmental awareness and an invitation to appreciate the sublimity that persists in the landscape, deepening our understanding of the global challenges we face today.Sheida Soleimani: Panjereh In Panjereh, Soleimani uses her family’s history—specifically her parents' flight from Iran as political refugees following the 1979 revolution—as a framework for exploring how meaning and memory are shaped by migration.Known for her studio-based constructions that layer photographs, props, live animals, and her parents into magical realist tableaus, Soleimani expands this approach in Panjereh while also debuting a new body of work: a series of close-up analogue photographs of injured birds. These works draw from her practice as a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator and founder of Congress of the Birds, a care tradition she inherited from her mother.In these new images, Soleimani draws attention to the plight of migratory birds, many of whom are wounded on their journeys through populated areas, using them as metaphors for the social, political, and environmental barriers faced by displaced people around the world. The exhibition also includes a new site-specific wall drawing created especially for ICP’s galleries. 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 © Pasinee Pramunwong
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ICP Community Day
Visit ICP during Community Day to enjoy free admission to our current exhibitions—Edward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration and Sheida Soleimani: Panjereh, and connect with community organizations in the ICP galleries! Join us for a building wide activation featuring hands-on workshops, family activities, and open mic performances in the ICP Library.Reserving a free ticket in advance is strongly recommended. Activities in ICP LibraryPhotoSLAM: “Open Theme” - Give Us Your Best Photo Story!12:30 PM Check-in and signups1 PM Open-micNuyorican Poets Café x ICP: 1,000 Words Open Mic Series: “Community”3:30 PM Signups4 PM Performance Full line up of participating organizations coming soon. Image by Scott Rudd.
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Summer 2025 Exhibitions Tour
This event is free with museum admission.Join us for a guided walking tour of the exhibitions Edward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration and Sheida Soleimani: Panjereh, led by a museum educator.About the ExhibitionsEdward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration The first solo institutional exhibition of world-renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky’s work in New York City in over twenty years, The Great Acceleration reveals the depth of Burtynsky's investigation into the human alteration of natural landscapes around the world, revealing both their present fragility and enduring beauty.This retrospective features over seventy photographs—including many of Burtynsky’s landmark images, some never before exhibited—alongside three ultra high-resolution murals and a visual and narrative timeline of his creative life. The Great Acceleration serves as both an urgent call for environmental awareness and an invitation to appreciate the sublimity that persists in the landscape, deepening our understanding of the global challenges we face today.Sheida Soleimani: Panjereh In Panjereh, Soleimani uses her family’s history—specifically her parents' flight from Iran as political refugees following the 1979 revolution—as a framework for exploring how meaning and memory are shaped by migration.Known for her studio-based constructions that layer photographs, props, live animals, and her parents into magical realist tableaus, Soleimani expands this approach in Panjereh while also debuting a new body of work: a series of close-up analogue photographs of injured birds. These works draw from her practice as a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator and founder of Congress of the Birds, a care tradition she inherited from her mother.In these new images, Soleimani draws attention to the plight of migratory birds, many of whom are wounded on their journeys through populated areas, using them as metaphors for the social, political, and environmental barriers faced by displaced people around the world. The exhibition also includes a new site-specific wall drawing created especially for ICP’s galleries. 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 © Pasinee Pramunwong

Plan a Visit

ICP's museum, school, bookstore, and café are located at 84 Ludlowm St. in New York's historic Lower East Side. 

Perspective & News

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Become a Member

Members are the heart of ICP's community. Beyond their involvement in a robust network of imagemakers and image appreciators, ICP's members receive complimentary tickets to all exhibitions, reduced tuition for Open Education courses, invitations to members-only events, and much more.