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.
50-yr retrospective featurings monumental multi-channel video installations
Contemporary artists play with words to animate and expand their art practices
A multipart experimental weaving developed in response to the architecture of the museum
Found materials become intricate soft sculptures, quilts, masks, and other assemblages
Small paintings, drawings &d prints, and a selection of sketchbooks, from 1987 - 2021
Expressions of beauty in the human form through art made by teens
Representations of ordinary people attempting to live extraordinary lives
Short film clips stitched together, featuring the opening and closing of doors
Focuses on the development of abstraction among indigenous artists