“We are a generation of photographers that grew up in an over-saturated world of visual information. In the midst of this, how do we produce work that is meaningful? My experience at ICP taught me that photography is about the things that we care most deeply about.
Photography is more than an image. While the digital industry is changing and we have to adapt more than ever, we can’t ever lose sight of our passion.
We have to stick to the core of why photography is important to us and to others, and why we believe in it.” – Sarah Blesener, ICP Student
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“I am only now completing my third year of undergraduate study, so I am fortunate to be at ICP during an exciting and transformative period of my artistic development.
The photographic medium is also in such a state of transformation — which means I am at the perfect place to position myself at the epicenter of a major shift in global consciousness concerning art, science, and technology. ICP has given me the vocabulary to participate in this shift, and whether I leave defining myself as a photographer, an image-maker, both or neither, I feel confident in my ability to become an innovative creator within my medium.
This year’s introduction of the New Media Narratives program has given me reason to be excited about ICP’s future. Though I am enrolled in the General Studies program, having access to New Media Narratives classes has allowed me to pursue my interest in coding and fostered my desire to utilize new technologies in my art practice. A cross-program hybridization of course selection is where I see the school’s future shining brightest.
To become well-versed in photography’s timeless techniques as well as in its contemporary implications is time well spent. I feel that the Center’s serious investment in the future of the medium is an intelligent move that will help it maintain relevance in a world where relevance is an ephemeral and valuable currency. The opening of 250 Bowery fits well into this equation, and will further the education of both its students and the public in the new and oft-unpredictable ways of the image in the 21st century.” – Miles Goscha, ICP Student, General Studies in Photography Program
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“I’m one of the students in the New Media Narratives program. It’s the first year of the New Media Narratives program, and I think it’s a great direction that International Center of Photography is going into.
Nowadays the boundary between different genres of photographic work is not that clear and strict anymore. For example, before I came to ICP, I mostly did traditional photojournalism work — single images at spot news scenes or a series of photos for a story. When I came here, I found that there are so many other possibilities. I chose not only a lot of courses in New Media Narratives program, but also some classes in General Studies — both are something that I was not very exposed to. Through study, I found out that a work can be extended so much in both traditional and new media directions, as long as one has a good understanding of different mediums. I think here at ICP, they teach students to understand those mediums better. Especially in New Media Narratives program, the teachers showed us many great artworks that connect closely with today’s newest technology, which was really mind-expanding. At the same time, they teach us how to use those technologies in the best ways to serve storytelling instead of just using them for the sake of using them. I can see what’s happening now and what will keep happening is that ICP is attracting not only those who want to be photographers but also want to become editors, filmmakers, project managers, digital artists, designers, etc.” – Muyi Xiao, student in the New Museum Narratives program
