The curator, editor, writer, and longtime member of the ICP community returns to lead the stewardship of ICP’s collection.
The International Center of Photography (ICP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Erin Barnett as Director of Collections and Library Services, beginning October 5, 2026. Barnett returns to ICP with more than two decades of experience across photography, curatorial practice, collections, publishing, and education—and a longstanding relationship with ICP and its collection.
Spanning more than 200,000 photographs and related objects, ICP’s collection is one of the institution’s most significant resources and an important repository of photographic history. Its holdings include sought-after images by Robert Capa, Weegee, and other defining photographers, alongside work that reflects the breadth and continuing evolution of the medium. The collection is a core source for exhibitions at ICP and beyond, as well as for research, education, loans, publications, and programs that bring photographic history into dialogue with the present.
Barnett’s appointment reflects ICP’s continued commitment to expanding access to the collection and putting it to active use.
“We are delighted to welcome Erin back to ICP,” said Bob Jeffrey, CEO of the International Center of Photography. “Her deep knowledge of our collection and institutional history, combined with the breadth of experience she has gained across the field, will be invaluable as we expand access to the collection and create new ways for artists, students, scholars, and audiences to engage with it.”
Barnett first joined ICP’s curatorial team in 2002 and went on to hold a number of curatorial and collections roles at the institution. She returned in 2016 as Director of Exhibitions and Collections, a position she held through 2020. Across her previous tenures, Barnett helped shape ICP’s exhibition program and oversaw key aspects of its collection, organizing, curating, and co-curating more than 30 exhibitions and publications.
Among the exhibitions Barnett organized or co-curated at ICP are The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection (2020); Your Mirror: Portraits from the ICP Collection (2019); RFK Funeral Train: The People’s View (2018); The Loving Story: Photographs by Grey Villet (2012); Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945 (2011); and Amelia Earhart: Image and Icon (2007).
Her work at ICP has long connected curatorial scholarship with the stewardship and active use of the collection. In addition to developing exhibitions, Barnett conducted research on ICP’s holdings, oversaw collection loans and the rights and reproductions program, worked with the Acquisitions Committee, and co-taught an ICP-Bard MFA course focused on research methodologies and writing.
“ICP has always been an important part of my life and work, and I’ve been fortunate to know the institution from many different roles,” said Barnett. “It is a vital center for people who care deeply about photography, and I’m thrilled to return at a moment of such momentum and to help make the collection a more accessible resource for our community.”
Since leaving ICP in 2020, Barnett has worked as an editor, writer, researcher, and project manager with museums, publishers, and arts organizations including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Public Art Fund, Aperture, and Phaidon. She was also on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts, where she taught courses engaging critical writing, photography, video, material culture, and curatorial practice.
Barnett holds a BA in Art History and East Asian Studies from Oberlin College and an MA in the History of Art from the University of Kansas and is an alumna of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program’s curatorial program.
Barnett succeeds Cara Dellatte, who departs ICP on October 21 after two years with the institution. ICP is grateful for Dellatte’s care, expertise, and commitment to the collection and the ICP community and wishes her all the best in her next chapter.
As Director of Collections, Barnett will lead the stewardship, research, interpretation, and continued development of ICP’s collection, with a focus on expanding access, supporting photographic research, and ensuring that the collection remains a dynamic resource for exhibitions, scholarship, education, and public engagement at ICP and around the world.