Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
{{Infobox museum
|name= Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
|image= Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.jpg
|established = {{Start date|1985|df=y}}
|dissolved = {{End date|2009|df=y}}
|location = within National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
|type = gallery
|director =
|curator =
|visitors =
|website = {{URL|www.gallery.ca}}
}}
The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) ({{langx|fr|Le Musée canadien de la photographie contemporaine}} (MCPC)) was a gallery of Canadian contemporary art and documentary photography. Founded in 1985 and affiliated to the National Gallery of Canada (NGC),{{sfn|Warren|2006|p=1115}} it was housed at the National Gallery of Canada, located at 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa.
The CMCP did not have a permanent home until it moved to its purpose-built site at 1 Rideau Canal in 1992. The Pavilion entrance building, which was opened on May 7, 1992, was originally proposed by architect Michael Lundhom, who adapted an old railway tunnel running alongside the Chateau Laurier. The museum ultimately was designed and executed by architects Rysavy Rysavy. The glass and concrete entrance from the street, reminiscent of the colonnade leading into the National Gallery, lead patrons down to the main part of the museum which was located below street level.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}
Its founding director and chief curator was Martha Langford, who held those positions from 1985 until 1994.{{sfn|Lerner|2011}}
In 2009 it was announced that the CMCP, which had been closed temporarily in 2006, would be permanently closed. Its collections and program of exhibitions were absorbed by the National Gallery of Canada. In 2016, the CMCP's photographic collection was folded into the newly created Canadian Photography Institute (CPI).
Collection
The foundation of the CMCP's collection were a selection of photographs from the Still Photography Division of the National Film Board of Canada.National Film Board of Canada, Still Photography Division, p 15-16. By 2005, it held about 160,000 photographic works including works by Canadian artists such as Kelly Wood.{{sfn|Warren|2006|p=1115}}
Closure
On March 29, 2009 it was announced that the CMCP, which had been closed temporarily in 2006 due to a leak, would be permanently closed for conversion to committee rooms.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gallery.ca/sites/default/files/documents/AR_FinalWeb_en.pdf|title=National Gallery of Canada Annual Report 2007-2008. (PDF)|date=2008|website=National Gallery of Canada|access-date=2018-01-15}}{{Cite news|url=http://danigirl.ca/blog/2009/05/02/save-the-canadian-museum-of-contemporary-photography-building-from-the-bureaucrats/|title=Save the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography building from the bureaucrats!|work=Postcards from the Mothership|access-date=2018-01-15|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.carfac.ca/news/2009/05/14/cmcp-open-letter/|title=Save the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography - CMCP Open Letter - CARFAC|date=May 14, 2009|website=CARFAC|access-date=2018-01-15}} Its collections and program of exhibitions have since been absorbed by the National Gallery of Canada."The National Gallery of Canada will consult with the photographic artists community on the future of the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography", April 8, 2009. http://seopanel.escybermuse.beaux-arts.ca/en/about/623.php {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001344/http://seopanel.escybermuse.beaux-arts.ca/en/about/623.php |date=2017-02-02 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/canadian-photography-institute-a-great-coming-together-of-resources/article31513827/|title=Canadian Photography Institute aims to be a centre of photographic study, display|access-date=2018-01-15}} A campaign to maintain the CMCP at its purpose-built site was unsuccessful.Online petition https://archive.today/www.savecmcp.com. See also community discussion at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/pgns-members/r3H2dmY69Ic and http://neditpasmoncoeur.blogspot.ca/2009/03/rumour-canadian-museum-of-contemporary.html The exhibitions are now showcased at the National Gallery of Canada. As of 2016, the CMCP's photographic collection has been folded into the newly created Canadian Photography Institute (CPI).http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/canadian-photography-institute-1.3339738 and "Not only does the institute, financed in part by Scotiabank, include more than 50,000 prints and 145,000 negatives from the NGC's existing holdings and those of the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (which upon its closing in 2009 was amalgamated with the NGC)" quoted from 'Canadian Photography Institute aims to be a centre of photographic study, display', August 26, 2016 Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/canadian-photography-institute-a-great-coming-together-of-resources/article31513827/
Affiliations
The Museum was affiliated with: National Gallery of Canada, CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|title=Depicting Canada's Children: Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada|editor-last=Lerner|editor-first=Loren|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Universityh Press|date=2011|isbn=9781554587292}}
- {{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography|editor-last=Warren|editor-first=Lynne|volume=1|publisher=Routledge|date=2006|isbn=978-1-57958-393-4}}
- {{cite book|title=Contemporary Canadian Photography from the Collection of the National Film Board|editor-last=Langford|editor-first=Martha|publisher=Hurtig Publishers Ltd.|date=1984|isbn=0-88830-264-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarycana0000unse_r6q4}}
{{refend}}
External links
- [http://www.gallery.ca/ National Gallery of Canada website]
- Campaign to save the CMCP from closure: {{cite web |url=http://www.savecmcp.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716010444/http://www.savecmcp.com/ |archive-date=2011-07-16 |title=Save the CMCP |access-date=2012-06-02 }}
{{National museums of Canada}}
{{coord|45.425083|N|75.695329|W|region:CA-ON_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Commons}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Art museums and galleries in Ontario
Category:Photography museums and galleries in Canada
Category:1985 establishments in Ontario
Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1985
Category:Defunct museums in Canada
Category:2009 disestablishments in Ontario