Photo: Will Wilson
Following the groundbreaking and successful partnership with the Annenberg Space for Photography on the 2018 exhibition Not an Ostrich: And Other Images from America’s Library, the Library of Congress announced in the wake of the closure of the Photo Space that it would accept a donation of 1,000 photographic prints by about 250 contemporary photographers from its Annenberg Space for Photography exhibitions to the national library’s collections, in addition to a substantial financial gift. From the announcement:
“The Library of Congress is really the people’s library — our oldest federal cultural institution and arguably our most important,” said Wallis Annenberg, chairman and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation. “That’s why I’m so pleased to help the Library reimagine its visitor experience — to become more open and inclusive and interactive.”
The Annenberg Foundation’s gift follows a collaboration between the Library and the foundation that showcased the Library’s vast photography collection. A 2018 Los Angeles exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography featured more than 400 photographs from the Library, spanning three centuries of photography. The Library is planning a future photography exhibition, based on the Annenberg-curated show from 2018, along with a documentary film on the Library of Congress and its history, produced by the Annenberg Space for Photography.
Read the full Library of Congress’ press release here.
