Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography

The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography was founded and affiliated with the National Gallery of Canada in January 1985. However, its history can be traced back to World War II (1939–1945), as the Still Photography Division of the National Film Board of Canada. For nearly five decades, the Division collected and championed Canadian photography. It built up its collection by assigning photographers to document Canada, its resources and its people. Part of this extensive archive, which includes negatives dating from 1941 to 1962, is now housed at Library and Archives Canada. In the 1960s, the Division moved away from a strictly informational role; it established its fine print collection and launched a program of exhibitions and publications. Until 1983, the exhibitions had a public venue in an Ottawa office building and were available to tour.

The CMCP carried on the Division's legacy, collecting photographs and producing major exhibitions and award-winning publications. For almost ten years, without gallery spaces of its own, it circulated its exhibitions to venues across Canada and abroad. In May 1992, the Museum became a cultural destination in downtown Ottawa, with the opening of a building specially designed to house the collection and showcase its exhibitions.