Photo: Joshua Franzos

Although at Carnegie Museum of Art we didn’t establish a photography department until 2008, the medium has been part of our history almost from the beginning. In 1904, we were among the first U.S. museums to acknowledge photography as an art by hosting an exhibition of Pictorialist images curated by Alfred Steiglitz, the father of fine art photography in the United States. Over the years, we brought some important images into the collection and produced several major shows, including the 1997 exhibition Pittsburgh Revealed: Photographs since 1850. Then, in 2001, we acquired the Teenie Harris Archive, a celebration of the achievements of the Pittsburgh photojournalist, and an invaluable resource for African-American history.

Over the last six years, we’ve continued to expand our commitment to photography. The most visible evidence are the projects associated with the unique and highly experimental Hillman Photography Initiative. It’s a manyfaceted and ambitious program that invites the casual photographer and experts alike to consider the state of the medium, which, with the ascent of smartphones and the web, has been undergoing enormous change. (Participate at