About
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 450,000 photographs; 28,000 motion picture films; the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology; one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema; and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and makes critical contributions in the fields of film preservation and photographic conservation.
Current Press Releases
George Eastman Museum restoration project Murder in Harlem (1935) selected for screening at 2021 Cannes Film Festival
Rochester, N.Y., July 2, 2021—The George Eastman Museum announced that its recent restoration of Murder in Harlem (1935), a rare film directed by Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), has been selected to be screened in the Cannes Classic series at the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) in France. The festival will be held from Tuesday, July 6, through Saturday, July 17, 2021. The Eastman Museum collaborated with the Cineteca di Bologna, in Italy, to preserve the film.
George Eastman Museum to present two Free Film Series in Solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans
Rochester, N.Y., June 18, 2021—This summer, the George Eastman Museum will present two free film series in solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans: Spotlighting Black Film Artists and Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Directors. All are invited to attend the screenings at the Dryden Theatre.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden photography exhibition to open in Fall 2021 at the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., May 12, 2021—The George Eastman Museum will open the major new exhibition Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On in its main galleries on Friday, November 5, 2021. The exhibition is an early-career survey of the Rochester-based artist’s work, in which McFadden critically examines the racism and anti-Black violence that Black Americans have experienced from slavery to the present.
India Heritage Museum in collaboration with the George Eastman Museum presents "Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection"
Rochester, N.Y., April 29, 2021—India Heritage Museum will present a new visual arts exhibition, Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection, beginning Saturday, May 8, and running through Sunday, June 13. This free exhibition includes contemporary Indian film posters provided by the George Eastman Museum and can be viewed at the Vinod and Vinay Luthra India Heritage Center at 2171 Monroe Wayne County Line Road, Macedon, 14502. The exhibit can be visited on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
George Eastman Museum will exhibit Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre’s work focusing on Transgender Older Adults
Rochester, N.Y., April 23, 2021—The George Eastman Museum will present To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults, a photographic exhibition on view from June 19, 2021 through January 2, 2022. This interdisciplinary project is a collaboration between photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis whose research focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ issues and aging.
The Dryden Theatre will reopen on April 2
Rochester, N.Y., March 18, 2021—The Dryden Theatre will reopen to the public with a screening of Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, US 1941) on Friday, April 2, followed by Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, US 1954) on Saturday, April 3. All films will begin at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.).
George Eastman Museum to install monumental Colorama
Rochester, N.Y., October 2, 2020—The George Eastman Museum is installing a reproduction of a Colorama image adjacent to its new Thomas Tischer Visitor Center. The public opening of the Tischer Visitor Center and the Colorama will be on Saturday, October 10.
The George Eastman Museum postpones the 6th Nitrate Picture Show
Rochester, N.Y., April 8, 2020—The George Eastman Museum is postponing the 6th Nitrate Picture Show, originally scheduled for June 4–7, 2020, until June 3–6, 2021. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the museum has decided not to present the film festival in this calendar year. More than 80 percent of current festival passholders would need to travel to Rochester from across the country or overseas, making their attendance inadvisable and nearly impossible in the current environment.
The Nitrate Picture Show returns to the George Eastman Museum in 2016
Rochester, N.Y., November 23, 2015—The George Eastman Museum officially announced today that it will be presenting the 2nd Nitrate Picture Show this coming spring. The festival will be held April 29–May 1, 2016 at the Dryden Theatre, the George Eastman Museum’s historic venue for film exhibition in Rochester, NY. The Dryden Theatre—one of only a few archival venues in the world that can project nitrate film—is home to the museum’s ongoing program of past and present cinematic works from all countries.
George Eastman Museum acquires world’s largest collection of contemporary Indian cinema
Rochester, N.Y., November 3, 2015—The George Eastman Museum has recently acquired the world’s largest collection of contemporary Indian cinema held by a museum or film archive. The collection consists of 775 prints representing 597 film titles, all in 35mm format, made between 1999 and 2013. In addition, about 6,000 film posters were acquired as part of the collection. This exceptional donation represents not only films from the Hindi-language film industry commonly known as “Bollywood,” but also Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu productions. The languages represented in these films include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Many titles are from acclaimed masters of Indian cinema, such as Mani Ratnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Anurag Kashyap, Nagesh Kukunoor, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Press Contact
Eliza Kozlowski
Senior Director of Marketing and Engagement
George Eastman Museum
(585) 327-4860
[email protected]