[3] Powerhouse will continue and expand on ACP programs with commissions, acquisitions, publications, learning and research activities dedicated to the promotion and development of photography in Australia.

[9][10][11] Tamara Winikoff, director of ACP (1982–1985) began publication of Photofile, a small community newspaper in 1983 which became a significant journal showcasing Australian photography in a glossy, large format (44 cm) and hosting the critiques and debates surrounding it.

[22] Margaret Whitlam opened the first ACP gallery in a corner terrace refurbished by architect Michael Standley at 76a Paddington Street, Sydney, on 21 November 1974[1] with the initial exhibition Aspects of Australian Photography under inaugural director Graham Howe.

That exhibition, expanded with ten more photographers' work to comprise Godwin Bradbeer, Warren Breninger, John Cato, Ian Dodd, Max Dupain, Rennie Ellis, Richard Harris, David Moore, Grant Mudford, Jon Rhodes, Roger Scott, Wesley Stacey, John Walsh and Richard Woldendorp, but with Max Pam, who was in the original line-up, excluded due to perceived sensitivities about his explicit imagery made in SE Asia, toured to Australian embassies and high commissions in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Burma, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa (given the end of apartheid) in 1975 and 1976, supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

[26] Architect James Grose refurbished the ACP by opening the facade up to the street and adding a two-storey extension with a central staircase in a construction by John Lewis and Luigi Rosselli, which integrated galleries, library, darkrooms, studio, digital imaging facilities, specialist bookstall and a restaurant, the latter through an arrangement negotiated protractedly over 1993–1994 variously with entrepreneur Rene Rivkin with caterer Maggi Agostini, then Victoria Alexander and others, to lease the shopfront,[27] with the ACP offices and gallery behind.

[26] In the interim the gallery opened at 27–31 Abercrombie St., Chippendale (6 km closer to the CBD and now housing Galerie pompom) under the name Temporary Hoarding to continue with a few shows into November 1994,[31] including Reflex (12–27 August),[32] sustained by curator/publicist Susan Charlton organising brochures and "Sydney Artbus" public tours.

[36][37] From 2011, as photography students increasing turned to courses in tertiary institutions for instruction, revenue from the ACP's film-based workshops continued to fall, and in 2015, the centre was forced to sell its building.

[5] An early opportunity for photographers initiated by the ACP in 1978 was the Colonial Sugar Refinery Project, a commission for six Australian practitioners, Micky Allan, Sandra Edwards, Mark Johnson, Graham McCarter, Lewis Morley and Jon Rhodes, to freely make artistic and documentary work relating to the CSR site at Pyrmont.

Coincident with the closure of the ACP, planning was taking place for a National Centre for Photography, with galleries, library, darkroom, an archive and education program, to be opened in regional Ballarat, funded with $6.7 million from the Victorian state government.

[43] Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah recognised the long-term achievements of the organisation;For nearly 50 years, ACP has cemented the importance of photography in contemporary culture by championing a diverse range of artists.

It’s our privilege to play a part in shaping the future of photographic practice in Australia, building on the exceptional work of ACP, under the expert guidance of the Powerhouse Photography Advisory Group.