NEW YORK, NY (December 12, 2022) – Elisabeth Sherman has been named Senior Curator and Director of Exhibitions and Collections at the International Center of Photography (ICP). She joins ICP from the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she has worked since 2010. Sherman will lead the ICP exhibition and collections program, as well as the growth and development of ICP’s curatorial team. She begins her new position on January 17, 2023.
Sherman has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions at the Whitney, including Time Management Techniques, a photography exhibition currently on view through January 8, 2023. She co-curated Dawoud Bey: An American Project (2019–2022), which had a four-venue tour and won the Lucie Award for Photo Museum Exhibition of the Year in 2021. Sherman oversaw the Whitney’s presentation of Zoe Leonard: Survey, the first large-scale overview of the artist’s work in an American museum.
“Elisabeth Sherman is known as a strong leader and collaborator across complex initiatives with curatorial and artistic teams. She has a deep understanding of photography and its connection to contemporary art – evident in projects like the Dawoud Bey and Zoe Leonard exhibitions. In addition to work on major curatorial undertakings, her experience building collections has contributed to an expanded engagement with emerging artists in all media” said David E. Little, Executive Director of ICP. “Elisabeth has a great reputation for her work with living artists and a distinct ability to showcase their visions. She understands the unique opportunity at ICP to work with contemporary artists in an institution equally committed to its museum program and school which together nurture the next generation of impactful imagemakers.”
Previously, Sherman co-curated Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950–2019 (2019–2022) and Between the Waters, both in 2018. Earlier curatorial credits at the Whitney include: Bunny Rogers: Brig Und Ladder (2017), the installation Torbjørn Rødland: Blue Portrait (Nokia N82) (2016), Flatlands (2016), Collected by Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner (2015), and the installation of Michele Abeles: Baby Carriage on Bike or Riot Shield as Carriage (2015). Sherman has written for numerous exhibition catalogues and artists’ monographs, as well as contributed to Artforum and Art in America. She is a board member of Burnawayin Atlanta. She received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and her M.A. from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the team at ICP, an institution I have long admired, watched and learned from,” said Elisabeth Sherman. “As ICP’s vital legacy continues to evolve, I look forward to interpreting its significance in culture today and foregrounding the contemporary artists and voices in the field who are paving the way forward in visual culture.”
David Campany remains ICP’s Curator-at-Large, and ICP will continue its model of working with a network of international curators to bring diverse perspectives and varied expertise on lens-based culture to ICP in its downtown home.
About the International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Cornell Capa founded ICP in 1974 to champion “concerned photography”—socially and politically minded images that can educate and change the world. Through exhibitions, education programs, community outreach, and public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. Since its inception, ICP has presented more than 700 exhibitions, provided thousands of classes, and hosted a wide variety of public programs. ICP launched its new integrated center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in January 2020. Located at 79 Essex Street, ICP is the cultural anchor of Essex Crossing, one of the most highly anticipated and expansive mixed-use developments in New York City. ICP pays respect to the original stewards of this land, the Lenape people, and other indigenous communities. Visit icp.org to learn more about the museum and its programs.