Checking out the new International Center of Photography at Essex Crossing

The International Center of Photography (ICP) opened in its new four-story home in Essex Crossing on Jan. 25.

I finally had the chance to check out the space (I missed the media preview!) at 79 Essex St. between Delancey and Broome the other evening.

The four opening exhibits, with links to their descriptions, are:

• Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good

• CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop

• James Coupe: Warriors

• The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection

And here are a few random photos of the photos and exhibits...













The space is much better suited to the work than its rather unwelcoming home of a few years on the Bowery, which featured dimly light basement galleries. The new building reunites the ICP school and library, and will also offer public programming. (A cafe is coming soon too.)

The current exhibits are up through May 18. The ICP is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (to 9 p.m. on Thursdays). They are closed on Tuesdays. You can find admission price and other details at this link.

Snapshot of the former International Center of Photography space on the Bowery

The International Center of Photography (ICP) ended its three-year tenure at 250 Bowery in late June.

An EVG reader points us to the now-vacant space, where a for lease sign recently arrived on the front window.

The rent is available upon request for the nearly 11,000 square feet of space over two floors. (The listing notes "Divisions Considered.")

As you may know, ICP will open in January on Broome Street in the Essex Crossing complex. ICP announced this move in the fall of 2017. The new venue — encompassing a full city block between Ludlow and Essex — will have space to house both the ICP Museum and the ICP School.

ICP paid $29 million for the Essex Crossing properties. In turn, the Essex Crossing developers bought ICP’s 250 Bowery space for $25 million, in a deal reported in May.

Previously on EV Grieve:
ICP now closed on the Bowery ahead of move to Essex Crossing

ICP now closed on the Bowery ahead of move to Essex Crossing

The International Center of Photography (ICP) has ended its three-year tenure at 250 Bowery.

A sign on the door points patrons to its new home on Broome Street in the Essex Crossing complex — opening in January 2020...



ICP announced the move to Broome Street in the fall of 2017. The new venue — encompassing a full city block between Ludlow and Essex — will have space to house both the ICP Museum and the ICP School.

ICP paid $29 million for the Essex Crossing properties. In turn, the Essex Crossing developers bought ICP’s 250 Bowery space for $25 million, in a deal reported in May.

No word on what is coming next to 250 Bowery near Stanton Street.

As you can see, ICP's new home will not include this stack of tables that are up for grabs on the sidewalk out front...

Julia Gorton’s 'Pretty in Punk' on the Bowery

During evening hours - after the museum closes - images are projected in the windows and can be viewed from the sidewalk outside. On Thursday, the museum does not close until 9. During the day, the work is presented on monitors in the lobby. . #lindagibbs #icpprojected #prettyinpunk #cbgbs #nowave #punk #postpunk #juliagorton

A post shared by Julia_gorton_nowave (@julia_gorton_nowave) on Mar 3, 2018 at 9:24am PST

Tonight through Monday, the International Center of Photography at 250 Bowery between Houston and Stanton will be featuring the work of photographer Julia Gorton.

Her photos are part of the ICP's Projected Series. Per the Museum:

During the day, Pretty in Punk: Downtown Girls can be viewed on monitors inside the ICP Museum and during evening hours, images are literally “projected” onto the windows of the ICP Museum; they can be viewed from the sidewalk outside the Museum and are most visible after sunset.

As Gorton recently explained: "The show is a selection of images from the late 70’s, most of which I shot not too far from the museum. The women included are all noteworthy in their own ways, whether they are familiar names or not."

Capa Café now serving inside the International Center of Photography on the Bowery

The Capa Café is now up and running inside the International Center of Photography (ICP), 250 Bowery between Houston and Stanton.

A Café rep sent along details yesterday ... via the EVG inbox...

The International Center of Photography ... is tapping Great Performances (GP), the sustainability oriented New York City food service and events company, to re-invent and operate the ICP Museum’s café. Reimagined and debuting this fall as the Capa Café — a nod to ICP founder and noted photojournalist, Cornell Capa — the 40-seat eatery features a revamped menu, complete with a robust coffee and tea offering as well as seasonally sensitive fare for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, including baked on-site breads and pastries, made-to-order sandwiches, and hot entrées.

The Café will also unveil a new look later this month, per the announcement. The Capa Café is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.



The ICP opened here in June 2016. Maman, which ran the first cafe in the space, quietly closed back in March, as BoweryBoogie reported. Another cafe later opened in its place.

About the #helloicp installation at the future home of the International Center of Photography

[Images via helloicp]

We recently caught up with East Village resident Frank Franca to discuss his installation at 250 Bowery, where the International Center of Photography (ICP) will call home next spring.

Franca, a photographer and longtime faculty member at ICP who has lived in the East Village since 1982, calls the project #helloicp. Participants can go to the #helloicp website or to Instagram (adding the hashtag #helloicp to their photos) and upload images, which will then live stream to the installation in the front windows at 250 Bowery, which is just south of Houston.

He shared a few thought about #helloicp with us.

About working on the project:

The opportunity to see photographers from all over the world presenting themselves and their cultures without any context or filters from media sources or institutions has been very revealing. It has shown me that what makes us all the same is far greater than our differences.

No matter where one lives, we all want the same things and live remarkably similar lives even though the circumstances and surroundings might be very different. Politicians can be at war with each other, but the people wherever they are all want the same things. They want to build their lives with their families and to thrive. They want to be left to live in peace.

As a photographer, the opportunity to interact with other photographers from all over the world who share my same passions has made all of this even more pronounced and remarkable.

About the new ICP space:

I am doing this in great part to welcome ICP into the neighborhood. ICP is planning to embrace our community in a big way. They have many plans for being a dynamic and active force in the neighborhood. The first floor of the center on the Bowery will have large public areas which will be free and open to the public without requiring buying a ticket for the museum exhibitions further inside.

These public areas will include a cafe with indoor and outdoor sidewalk seating and a bookstore. There will also be a gallery in this public area dedicated showing new contemporary works that push the limits of the newest technology and challenge the notion of what contemporary photo based work is about. This area will be a lively and thought provoking meeting place for our community.

About the new Curator in Residence at the 250 Bowery space:

Charlotte Cotton has a background as a curator of photography in London's Victoria and Albert Museum and also the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She is an intelligent and innovative curator with her pulse on the rapidly changing times in photography when billions of people around the world with mobile phones carry a hi-definition camera in their pocket. She understands how image savvy young people are today and ICP, in part, will be addressing that. It will be fascinating and a lot of fun to see what she does with the new space.

#helloicp is on view through Nov. 1. New viewing times are 4 p.m. to midnight daily.