Institute of Contemporary Art Boston (ICA)

100 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210

617-478-3100

Museum Website

Now located in a breathtaking waterfront setting, and among the oldest museums in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art, ICA has for more than 75 years presented contemporary art in all media—visual arts, performance, film, video, and literature. 

Though founded in 1936, the ICA initiated formation of its permanent collection in 2006. Offering a diverse overview of national and international artworks in a range of media, the collection provides an important resource for contemporary culture in Boston. The collection is particularly strong in art by women, with specific depth in work by Louise Bourgeois, Mona Hatoum, Nan Goldin, Doris Salcedo, and Cindy Sherman.

A seasonal satellite space called the ICA Watershed opened in 2018. Located in the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston, the ICA Watershed transformed a 15,000-square-foot,  formerly condemned space into a new civic and cultural asset. Each summer, the ICA will invite one artist to create a site-specific work or installation.

Please check the museum website for updated exhibition information. Scheduling may have been modified as a result of the temporary museum closure.



Exhibitions & Dates

  • Charles Atlas: About Time

    Oct 10 2024 - Mar 16 2025

    50-yr retrospective featurings monumental multi-channel video installations

  • Wordplay

    Jan 30 2024 - Jan 5 2025

    Contemporary artists play with words to animate and expand their art practices

  • Igshaan Adams

    Feb 13 2024 - Jan 26 2025

    A multipart experimental weaving developed in response to the architecture of the museum

  • Tau Lewis: Spirit Level

    Aug 22 2024 - Jan 20 2025

    Found materials become intricate soft sculptures, quilts, masks, and other assemblages

  • Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon

    Apr 17 2025 - Sep 1 2025

    Small paintings, drawings &d prints, and a selection of sketchbooks, from 1987 - 2021

  • Believers: Artists and the Shakers

    Feb 13 2025 - Aug 3 2025

    Representations of ordinary people attempting to live extraordinary lives

  • Christian Marclay: Doors

    Apr 17 2025 - Sep 1 2025

    Short film clips stitched together, featuring the opening and closing of doors

  • An Indigenous Present

    Oct 9 2025 - Mar 8 2026

    Focuses on the development of abstraction among indigenous artists