In 1974, Fariha Friedrich, Heiner Friedrich, and Helen Winkler Fosdick co-founded Dia to help artists achieve visionary projects that might not otherwise be realized because of scale or scope. Since then, Dia has remained committed to that mission, focusing on in-depth engagement with each artist we work with, offering unwavering support of artists’ visions, maintaining long-term displays of artists’ work at our sites and beyond, and commissioning work from contemporary artists who bring new perspectives to the legacies of Minimal, Postminimal, and Conceptual art.

In 2024, to celebrate the institution’s 50th anniversary, we created an interactive timeline of highlights from Dia’s rich history and a series of long-form films each dedicated to a Dia location or site. The timeline, designed by Pentagram and programmed by AREA 17, explores five decades of exhibitions, spaces, projects, partnerships, and programs, bringing them to life through photographs, videos, documents, and ephemera—most of which are from Dia’s archives and have never been seen before. The films highlight individual works and Dia’s commitment to their legacy, featuring the voices of the artists, curators, dedicated caretakers, and other partners who continue to steward and preserve the sites for years to come.