Collection Sustainability Initiative
In late 2025, the Center for Creative photography will complete construction of a state-of-the-art cold storage facility. This is the first expansion of dedicated collection storage space since the Center’s current building opened in 1989.
This facility – consisting of three separate chambers for nitrate and acetate negatives and color prints – at approximately 4,500 square feet will be the largest of its kind among similar collecting institutions, designed to accommodate 20 years of collection growth beyond current holdings.
Importantly, this facility represents the Center’s commitment to responsible and sustainable stewardship of the materials it holds in trust for the public as part of its mission as a unit of Arizona Arts at the University of Arizona.
In early 2026, Center staff will begin a multi-year project to relocate collection material to the new facility. This will require a tremendous commitment of resources and staff time, which in turn will necessitate pausing certain activities.
Specifically, effective immediately through December 31, 2027, the Center will institute:
- A collection loan moratorium (exceptions will be considered but not necessarily granted), and
- A temporary suspension of new acquisitions by purchase and donation (not applicable to archive acquisitions already in process).
Exhibitions will continue throughout this period on site in the Alice Chaiten Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery and at the Norton Gallery at the Phoenix Art Museum, but the Center Galleries at the CCP will be closed January 1, 2026—December 31, 2027.
Chambers in the Center for Creative Photography’s cold storage facility before (left, featuring a life-size photo of Ansel Adams’s burro, Mistletoe, for scale) and during (right) rack installation.