MOMus–Thessaloniki Museum of Photography

MOMus, Thessaloniki Museum of Photography is a public cultural institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, study, and exhibition of photography. Located in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece, it operates under the supervision of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. The museum focuses on both historical and contemporary photographic works, with a particular emphasis on Greek photography. Since 2017, it has operated under its current name as part of the Metropolitan Organization of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus), a unified public cultural body formed by five museums in Thessaloniki and Athens. The institution also serves as the official organizer of the Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale, the country's longest-lasting photographic institution.

The institution traces its origins to 1987, when architect and photographer Aris Georgiou, photographer and ethnologist Yiannis Vanidis, and academic Apostolos Maroulis formed a private initiative to create a contemporary photography collection as the foundation for a future museum. In 1988, Georgiou established a photography festival that later evolved into the Thessaloniki International Festival of Photography, known since 2008 as the Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale. When Thessaloniki was designated the cultural capital of Greece in 1995, authorities proclaimed the goal of creating a photography museum, forming an advisory committee under Yorgos Katzangelos. The museum was legally established in 1997 by Greek law 2557/97, granting it legal personality. It officially opened in 1998 with Giorgos Makris as president and Aris Georgiou as its first director. A major fire on May 2, 2012, spread from a nearby storage company and partially destroyed the modern collection, damaging 1,985 out of 5,200 works in that collection. Museum leadership reported that 95 percent of the damaged works were saved using restoration techniques. Reconstruction was completed in 2013 with assistance from the Embassy of France and the Museum of Photography of Charleroi in Belgium. In 2017, the museum joined the newly formed MOMus organization, and in November 2018, it officially merged with four other museums into a single integrated institution.

The museum's mission encompasses the collection of historical and artistic Greek photography, the organization of exhibitions and events, research, educational programming, and publishing. Its archives and collection comprise approximately 120,000 negatives and photographic objects dating from 1890 to 2024. The institution also functions as a depository for the Greek portion of the Fred Boissonnas archive. In addition to its curatorial and conservation activities, the museum regularly publishes books related to its exhibitions, such as volumes on recent Greek photographic trends, the works of Aris Georgiou, and the theatrical photography of Costas Ordolis. Between 2006 and 2014, the museum produced or hosted more than 360 exhibitions presented in 26 cities across Greece and abroad, attracting over one million visitors to its activities. It has also engaged in international cooperation, such as the 2015 exhibition Faces, coproduced with BOZAR in Brussels and the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, and the 2016 Urban Layers project with Mediterranean partners funded by the Creative Europe program.

The museum's holdings include significant archives of Greek photographers, notably the archives of Yiannis Stylianou, Socrates Iordanidis, and Dimitris Letsios. The Iordanidis archive covers news, fashion, and urban landscapes from the 1950s through the 1970s. The museum has also acquired a collection featuring the work of 39 contemporary Greek photographers. The international collection includes works by photographers such as Vasco Ascolini, Jean-Francois Bauret, Fred Boissonnas, Luc Choquer, Carl De Keyzer, Gilles Ehrmann, Bruce Gilden, Richard Kalvar, Josef Koudelka, Roland Laboye, Joel Meyerowitz, Claude Nori, Tod Papageorge, Bernard Plossu, Miguel Rio Branco, Alex Webb, and Patrick Zachmann.

The museum is housed in Warehouse A, Pier A, at the Port of Thessaloniki, situated next to the Cinema Museum of Thessaloniki. The museum moved to this historic waterfront location in 2001. The space was adapted into a museological facility to host the institution's exhibitions and operations. All exhibition spaces and museum facilities are wheelchair accessible, equipped with accessible elevators and toilets. The museum provides a cafe, free Wi-Fi, and parking space for bicycles and electric scooters, though it does not offer car parking or luggage storage.

The museum is located at the Port of Thessaloniki and is closed on Mondays. Operating hours are 10:00 to 18:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with extended hours on Thursday from 12:00 to 20:00. General admission is 6.00 euros, or 8.00 euros with a scheduled tour. Reduced admission of 4.00 euros is available for students, visitors aged 12 to 25, and visitors 65 and over. A combined ticket for MOMus Photography and MOMus Experimental costs 8.00 euros for general admission and 5.00 euros for reduced admission. The myMOMus card provides access to all MOMus venues for a single visit to each venue over a six month period. Free admission is granted to visitors with disabilities and their companions, children under 12, and valid cardholders of ICOM and other cultural organizations. The museum is accessible via bus routes 5, 6, and 33, with nearby subway stations at Dimokratias and Venizelou. The institution also runs community and accessibility programs such as Memories in Frames, which engages elderly participants in storytelling through photography and performance.