Canadian Museum of Contemporary
Photography/Muse ́e canadien de la
photographie contemporaine
The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photo-
graphy/Muse ́e canadien de la photographie contem-
poraine (CMCP/MCPC) was founded in affiliation
with the National Gallery of Canada in 1985. The
history of its collection, however, dates back to
the 1960s, as the Still Photography division of the
National Film Board of Canada. A good portion
of the works dating from 1962 to 1985 is from the
collection of the National Film Board. Opening its
doors to the public in 1992, the CMCP/MCPC
currently holds over 160,000 photographic works,
spanning over 40 years. The collection comprises
works by Canadian-born or Canadian-resident
artists. As one of only a few national museums
devoted specifically to photography, the CMCP/
MCPC has successfully held up its mandate of col-
lecting the best of documentary and fine art photo-
graphy produced by Canadian contemporary
artists. The incredibly large body of work that it
holds represents an internal view of Canada’s
recent history, society, and culture. In addition
to photographs, the collection includes negatives,
books, filmstrips, assemblages, installations, and
video art.
Contemporary Canadian artists represented in-
clude Jeff Wall, Kelly Wood, Lynne Cohen, Michael
Snow, Damian Moppett, and Jocelyne Alloucherie,
among others. The CMCP holds many exhibitions
each year. A significant past exhibition was in 2003,
titledConfluence: Contemporary Canadian Photogra-
phy, showcasing the best of Canadian photography
from the last decade. Additionally, a significant recent
exhibition in September 2004, titledPhil Bergerson:
Shards of America, showcased the Toronto-based
photographer’s work about literal and figurative
signs that people leave behind. In 2002, CMCP/
MCPC was the only North American venue for a
major retrospective of the Robert Frank exhibition,
Moving Out.
http://www.cmcp.gallery.ca
Edmonton Art Gallery
In 1924, the Edmonton Museum of the Arts held its
first exhibition with only 24 paintings borrowed
from the National Gallery of Canada. By 1929, it
had its first permanent location and the beginning of
its permanent collection. After several facility
changes, and an ever-growing collection, in 1974,
the collection moved to its present location, and is
now known as the Edmonton Art Gallery. With
over 5,000 works in the permanent collection, the
Gallery includes Canadian and international art,
both historical and contemporary. Media collected
includes paintings, sculptures, installations, and
photography. The primary mandate of the gallery
is to preserve the artistic heritage of Canada. This
includes a program called ‘‘Adopt a Painting’’,
through which the public can help to restore some
of the artwork that is deteriorating.
The photography collection within the Gallery
holds over 1,200 works, and continues to grow.
The photographs held are a mixture of historical
and contemporary, Canadian and international, as
well as traditional and experimental. The Canadian
artists include Vicky Alexander, Raphael Gold-
chain, and Lauren Greenberg. Major international
artists include Ansel Adams and Walker Evans. An
important exhibition in recent years wasTechnico-
lour, in 2003, including the works of Canadian
photographers Chris Cran, Clay Ellis, Geoffrey
Hunter, Angela Leach, Chris Rogers, and Arlene
Stamp, and included photographs relating to the
visual language of today’s newest technologies.
http://www.edmontonartgallery.comGlenbow Museum
As Western Canada’s largest museum, the Glen-
bow Museum consists of an art collection, a lib-
rary, and an archives section. The museum boasts a
collection of over a million objects. As a multidis-
ciplinary institution, the collection includes cul-
tural history, ethnology, mineralogy, and military
history. The focus of the museum is therefore mul-
tifaceted. The art collection within the Museum
contains over 28,000 works, including contempor-
ary, historic, Western Canadian, and Inuit art. The
main focus of the art collection is to represent
Canadian artists, with a large portion of Western
Canadians. Within the contemporary art collection
is the photography collection with works by such
Canadian photographers as Alan Dunning, Craig
Richards, Iain Baxter, Douglas Curran, and
George Webber to name a few.
Within the Glenbow archives, there are approxi-
mately 79,000 photographs for research purposes.
Although most of these works are by non-artists,
the collection is a significantly large one including
many documentary works. The exhibitions held by
the museum are usually multimedia, and many
include photography. One particular show coming
in 2005 isOur River: Journey of the Bow, featuring
works about Alberta’s famous Bow River.
http://www.glenbow.orgMUSEUMS: CANADA