In 2013, MOPA celebrated 30 years as a museum in Balboa Park dedicated to exhibiting photography, film, and video. Prior to MOPA’s founding in 1983, it existed as the “Center for Photographic Arts,” a nonprofit organization created in the early 1970s which exhibited and promoted photography as an art form. Since its founding, MOPA has presented dynamic world-class photography exhibitions in San Diego and built a world class photography collection. 30x: Three Decades highlights one acquisition from each of MOPA’s 30 years, showcasing a selection of influential figures in the history of photography.

Artists included in the exhibition: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, Edouard-Denis Baldus, Ruth Bernhard, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Wynn Bullock, Bruce Davidson, Marian Drew, Lee Friedlander, Francis Frith, Emmet Gowin, Debbie Han, Yousef Karsh, Andre Kertesz, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Michael Light, Loretta Lux, Duane Michals, Richard Misrach, Nicholas Nixon, Tod Papageorge, Robert Parkeharrison, Alexander Rodchenko, Stephen Shore, Lou Stoumen, Thomas Struth, William Henry Fox Talbot