The Image Centre
Canada’s leading institution dedicated to the exhibition, research and collecting of photography.
Attica USA 1971: Images and Sounds of a Rebellion (opening party), The Image Centre, 2017 © Clifton Li, The Image Centre
About The Image Centre
The Image Centre (exterior), 2025 © Andrew Savery-Whiteway
The Image Centre (IMC) is Canada’s leading institution dedicated to the exhibition, research and collecting of photography. Established in 2012 at Toronto Metropolitan University, in the heart of the city, the IMC welcomes visitors to explore the intersection of photography and culture. Through compelling exhibitions and engaging public programming, the IMC showcases work by emerging, renowned, and anonymous photographers, past and present. With a growing collection of nearly 500,000 photographic objects and an innovative scholarly research program, the IMC is also a vibrant hub for the preservation and study of photography.
The Image Centre's Facade
The Image Centre (exterior), 2025 © Andrew Savery-Whiteway
The Image Centre (exterior), 2025 © Andrew Savery-Whiteway
This mural celebrates some of the most iconic images in the history of photography, from Eadweard J. Muybridge’s large corpus of pictures of horses in motion. Created in the mid-1880s as part of his pioneering Animal Locomotion series, these sequential photographs broke new ground by exposing how the body—animal or human—moves through space and time. Muybridge’s experiments in “chronophotography”—capturing movement through a rapid succession of exposures—were instrumental in laying the foundation for the development of cinema at the end of the 19th century. The mural’s placement on the TMU building shared by The School of Image Arts and The Image Centre makes this history especially resonant. Inside, students work fluidly across photography, film, and digital media, while The Image Centre presents exhibitions, hosts a major collection of photographs, and facilitates scholarly research in the history of the medium. Muybridge’s horse symbolizes the meeting point of still and moving images, reminding us that major breakthroughs emerge from curiosity, persistence, and a drive to see the world differently.
By bringing these striking images into the public realm, TMU shares both the history and the aspirations they carry, connecting photography’s past to its future while marking the building as a hub for creativity, research, and innovation.
The mural reverses Muybridge's original horse images as negatives, offering a contemporary take on these historic photographs.
Eadweard J. Muybridge, Animal Locomotion, Plate 637 [negative reversal], 1887, collotype (details). Collection of The Image Centre, purchased with funds from The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, 2025
Biography
Eadweard J. Muybridge (American, born in England, 1830–1904) was a photographer whose work bridged science, art, and invention. Celebrated for his pioneering work with motion studies, he created sequences that redefined how movement could be represented photographically, paving the way for modern visual culture. Earlier in his career, Muybridge gained acclaim for his dramatic photographs and stereo views of San Francisco, Yosemite, Alaska, and Central America. His tireless endeavours and innovative spirit made him one of photography’s most influential figures, inspiring artists, scientists, and filmmakers alike.
Dawit L. Petros, Colourscape, Coordinate #5, (Dakar, Senegal), 2012, pigment print. Courtesy of the artist and Bradley Ertaskiran, Montreal
The Image Centre presents Scotiabank Photography Award: Dawit L. Petros
May. 4, 2026
The Image Centre (IMC) presents a major survey of Montreal-based artist Dawit L. Petros, winner of the 2025 Scotiabank Photography Award—one of Canada’s most prestigious honours recognizing outstanding contributions to contemporary photography. On view at the IMC (33 Gould Street, Toronto) from May 6 through August 1, 2026, the exhibition spans more than two decades of Petros’s practice and features over 60 photographs and serigraphs.
Staff + Advisory Board
Staff & Volunteers
ADMINISTRATION
For general inquiries, please contact 416-979-5164 or imagecentre.gallery@torontomu.ca.
For media inquiries, please email kristendobbin@torontomu.ca.
Kristen Dobbin
Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations Officer
Michelle Hounslow
Executive Director, Advancement
Paul Roth
Director
Kristen Sayers
Administration, Finance and Special Events Coordinator
Natalie Spagnol
Manager, Administration and Operations
COLLECTIONS
For collection inquiries or appointments for the Peter Higdon Research Centre, contact 416-979-5000 x 552376 or imagecentre.collects@torontomu.ca.
Sasha Furlani
Assistant Museum Registrar
Charlene Heath
Archivist and Research Specialist
Melika Khosravi
Collections Cataloguer, Poy Family Intern
Andrew Savery-Whiteway
Digital Asset and Imaging Specialist
Luz Sierra
Collections Cataloguer, Rudolph P. Bratty Collection
Chantal Wilson
Manager, Collections and Registration
Mara Wirth
Collections Intern
EXHIBITIONS & OUTREACH
Sara Angelucci
Student Gallery Curatorial Coordinator
Jorge Ayala
New Media Programmer
Eric Glavin
Art Installer and Facility Technician
Sidney Haqq
Curatorial Assistant, Poy Family Internship
Bryce Julien
Outreach and Program Coordinator, Poy Family Youth in Focus
Campbell Kaye
Outreach Assistant, Poy Family Youth in Focus
Kathleen Lew
Visitor Engagement Coordinator
Valérie Matteau
Manager, Exhibitions and Publications
Gaëlle Morel
Curator
Jennifer Park
Art Preparator
RESEARCH
For research inquiries, please contact imagecentre.research@torontomu.ca.
Alex Borkowski
Research Program Coordinator
Thierry Gervais
Head of Research
VISITOR SERVICES
Ziana D'Mello
Gallery Attendant
Susan Devins
Volunteer Docent
Miriam Kagan
Volunteer Docent
Paul Kay
Volunteer Docent
Shebonti Khandaker
Gallery Attendant
Heather Mcgeown
Gallery Attendant
Narjes Naserizaker
Volunteer Docent
Evva Sofia Pereira Liapis
Gallery Attendant
Caro Simon
Gallery Attendant
Lais Soares
Gallery Attendant
Advisory Board
Howard A. Tanenbaum, Acting Chair
Acting Chair of The Image Centre Advisory Board; lawyer; financier; real estate developer; art collector; co-founder (with his wife, Carole Tanenbaum) of The Howard and Carole Tanenbaum Family Charitable Foundation.
David Angelo
A Toronto-based art collector known for his expansive and eclectic collection, built over three decades across photography and contemporary art. He has previously served on the boards of the Museum Trustee Association, the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, the Toronto School of the Arts, and the Fort York Food Bank.
Edward Burtynsky
Toronto Metropolitan University alumnus and one of Canada's most respected photographers; Burtynsky’s photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are in the collections of more than fifty major museums around the world.
Atom Egoyan
One of the most celebrated contemporary filmmakers on the international scene; winner of the Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival; recipient of several Academy Award nominations.
Shabin Mohamed
Chartered Accountant; Trustee of the Board of the AGO; Board Member of the Institute of Contemporary Culture at the ROM.
Careers
Complete listings for employment opportunities at The Image Centre are shared through Toronto Metropolitan University's Human Resources department. Please visit torontomu.ca/careers or call (416) 979-5075 for more information. Student internship and work study positions also become available seasonally and may be posted on this page. To stay up to date, sign up for our e-newsletter.
Volunteer opportunities
At The Image Centre we rely on a diverse group of volunteers to help support our exhibitions, special events and public programmes. As a volunteer, you can gain valuable experience in a professional gallery setting. In exchange, we would be happy to provide a reference letter, or sign-off on your volunteer hours.
What can you expect as a Volunteer? Some of your duties include:
- Interacting with visitors to offer information or answer questions about The Image Centre and our current programming
- Assisting with events, including set-up and take-down
- Supporting our front of house and docent team during exhibition tours, opening parties and school group visits
We ask for a minimum 4-month commitment, which includes on-site training. Volunteer shifts can range from 3-4 hours in length and take place on days, evenings and weekends.
Volunteer recruitment is held annually late August / early September, but we encourage you to get in touch via email and introduce yourself when regular operations commence. Please direct all inquiries to imagecentre.gallery@torontomu.ca.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge support and funding support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario.
Land Acknowledgement
Toronto is in the 'Dish With One Spoon Territory’. The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. Learn more about Toronto Metropolitan University's Land Acknowledgement.