Museum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. It does so by collecting, preserving, and providing access to moving-image related artifacts, screening significant films and other moving-image works, presenting exhibitions of artifacts, artworks, and interactive experiences, and offering educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public.

The Museum maintains the nation's largest and most comprehensive collection of artifacts relating to the art, history, and technology of the moving image—one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. Begun at the Museum's inception in 1981, today the collection comprises more than 130,000 artifacts from every stage of producing, promoting, and exhibiting motion pictures, television, and digital media, from pre-cinema optical toys to 21st-century digital technology. The collection also includes significant works of art by such artists as Red Grooms and Nam June Paik. More than 1,400 collection artifacts are currently on display in the Museum's core exhibition, Behind the Screen, and thousands more can be seen on the Museum’s on-line collection database, collection.movingimage.us.