ACT

ONE

A Century in the Making

A 700-page publication and exhibition offering a visual and intellectual portrait of the first quarter of the 21st century through photography and original essays.

Featuring work by more than 100 award-winning photographers alongside original essays by scholars and public thinkers addressing:

  • Climate change

  • Public Health

  • Human Rights

  • Deindustrialization

  • American Democracy

  • Race in America

  • War & Conflict

  • Globalization & Geopolitics

  • Technology

Offering readers an immersive and thought-provoking journey through the world’s most profound transformations since the turn of the millennium, creating a unique chronicle of our time.

Inside Act One

Featuring work by Guggenheim Fellows, W. Eugene Smith Award Recipients, Fulbright Scholars, and McArthur Grant Recipients.

A Global Chorus of Artists & Thinkers

Act One gathers the work of distinguished photographers, historians, journalists, scholars, and cultural voices whose work brings into focus the dynamics and shared experiences that give rise to the present.

Over 100 international renowned photographers & 8 leading distinguished scholars providing the intellectual scaffolding for this monumental visual work.

Featured Imagery

Publishing September 2026

Pre-Orders Available This Summer

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