Dispatches: The Photography of Douglas McCulloh, 1990–2025 is the first survey of the breadth and full depth of Douglas McCulloh’s photographic work. This retrospective exhibition collects all of his major projects in extensive form and allows us to see the historical, conceptual, and cultural context of his singular vision and his achievements. From the expansive series Chance Encounters (1990–8), Lost Among the Stars (2003–6), American Cross (2013–25), and Dream Street (2000–9), to ground-breaking work with found imagery, internet archives, performative interventions, and the landmark project The Great Picture (2006); McCulloh’s naturally inquisitive intelligence and visual acumen is evident in his early projects and experiments right through to works made at the time of his passing in 2025.

McCulloh approached the world with curiosity and wonder. He possessed a deep sensibility and a breadth of historical insight that allowed him to find new ways to engage and re-cast familiar subject matter in his speculative explorations. The interconnected complexity and richness of his pictures in tandem with text provide rich sociological and cultural insights. Each completed project conveys his discoveries as a “dispatch” from the field.

In McCulloh’s art and life, he pursued a series of profound and ultimately unanswerable questions about the predicaments generated by our modern society. His prominent career in photography spanned nearly 40 years and his sprawling and unique vision generated project after project that tested the boundaries and limits of photography. He saw this historical moment clearly, understood the bigger picture, and extracted a compelling reckoning with the culture wrought in our times.

Douglas McCulloh was an artist, writer, and curator. He was senior curator and executive director of UCR ARTS until his untimely passing in the first days of 2025. Over the course of his artistic and curatorial careers, his work was featured in venues throughout the world. McCulloh was an honors graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and held an MFA in photography and digital media from Claremont Graduate University.