Photography has dramatically altered our access to, understanding of, and impact on the natural world. Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape examines environmental history and degradation, particularly in the American landscape, as well as urgent concerns about climate change, through the camera lens. Featuring nearly 100 works by 19 different artists with multiple museum premieres and new commissions, this exhibition invites viewers to reconsider their relationship to the environment and understand how photography helps envision alternative paths forward.

Widening the Lens showcases works in a range of formats, including classic black-and-white prints, chromogenic and inkjet prints, mixed-media works, video, and immersive installations. The exhibition is divided into four themes: “Archive” explores the power of memory to animate the landscape of the present by highlighting artists who incorporate historical images into their work, “Remembering” features practices that draw strength from their relationship to collective knowledge, “Pathfinding” examines human adaptability to the changing environment, and “Horizon” considers environmental anxiety and speculative futures.

Widening the Lens presents a multi-faceted picture of contemporary ecological issues as they intersect with racial, economic and political life. Surfacing perspectives that have been historically underrepresented in museums and environmental discourse, it will offer multiple points of entry to a truly global problem.