PODCAST

Focal Point

Focal Point is a podcast exploring the artists, themes, and processes that define—and sometimes disrupt—the world of contemporary photography. Each episode engages two people in conversation around a photograph of their choice from the Museum of Contemporary Photography’s permanent collection. Join us as we explore contemporary photography in Chicago and beyond, through topics like the constructed image, portraiture and the human subject, the photographic archive, and more.

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All Episodes

00:52:46

What Does It Mean to Look at These Photographs?

Focal Point ·

2025/10/29

On May 29, 2025, MoCP presented a series of conversations exploring authorship, representation, and the dissemination of information as they relate to the past, present, and future of photography. This special edition of Focal Point Extrascaptures a discussion between photographer Susan Meiselas and writer, critic, and photographer Teju Cole on the topic “What Does It Mean to Look at These Photographs?” The two consider three bodies of work by Meiselas spanning several decades to examine the

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00:52:30

The Living Archive

Focal Point ·

2025/09/22

On May 29, 2025, MoCP presented a series of conversations that explored topics of authorship, representation, and the dissemination of information as they relate to the past, present, and future of photography.This special edition ofFocal PointExtras captures the conversation between scholar and educator Laura Wexler (Yale University) and artist, art historian, and educator Shawn Michelle Smith (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) on the topic of “The Living Archive.” The two discuss artists who

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00:50:54

Reshaping the Authorial Position

Focal Point ·

2025/09/12

On May 29, 2025, MoCP presented a series of conversations that explored topics of authorship, representation, and the dissemination of information as they relate to the past, present, and future of photography.This special edition of Focal Point Extras captures the conversation between artists Eric Gottesman and Wendy Ewald as part of a full-day symposium at MoCP titled Conversations on Collaboration in Photography. The two explored the ways artists place collaboration with the photographed person

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00:48:11

The Photographed Person was Always There

Focal Point ·

2025/08/28

On May 29, 2025, MoCP presented a series of conversations that explored topics of authorship, representation, and the dissemination of information as they relate to the past, present, and future of photography.This special edition of Focal Point Extras captures the conversation between artist Dawoud Bey and scholar Leigh Raiford on the topic of “The Photographed Person was Always There.” The two explored the critical role of the photographed person in portraiture, and how they shape images and their

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Episode 22: Christina Fernandez

Focal Point ·

2025/05/14

In this episode, MoCP Executive Director, Natasha Egan, sits down with artist Christina Fernandez. The two discuss Christina’s decades-long career inpushing the boundaries of photography, blending her personal history as aMexican American womanwith broader cultural narrativesabout migration, labor, and gender. Natasha and Christina additionally discuss a piece in the MoCP permanent collection by Sidian Liu.Christina Fernandez has been featured in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of Art, the San

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