Open Today 10 AM – 9 PM
Admission is free from 5 to 9 PM on ICA Free Thursdays.

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Advance tickets are recommended and are available for visits through July.

New program!

Created, implemented, and hosted by ICA Teens, The Current is a new, ongoing series of gatherings for youth dialogue and engagement around social issues through the arts.

In response to the ongoing events of trauma, violence, and racial injustice in our country, this event will bring together youth voices from around the city for reflection, discussion, and creative community. The program will include teen-moderated conversation, exploration of contemporary art in the ICA’s galleries that deals with relevant themes, and more.

Learn more about ICA Teens programs at icateens.org.


 

The ICA’s Teen Arts Council is generously sponsored by MFS Investment Management and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

MFS logo

ICA Teen Programs are sponsored by UNIQLO.

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-14-0235-14.

Additional support is provided by the Cabot Family Charitable Trust; The Robert Lehman Foundation; the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.; the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; the Surdna Foundation; and the Tiny Tiger Foundation.

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Institute of Museum and Library Services logo

 

The Current is an ongoing series of teen-organized programs focused on the intersection of art and social change. Limited to 60 participants. 

REKINDLING HOPE & REIMAGINING POSSIBLE FUTURES
Panel Discussion + Making Workshop
 

Featuring:

  • John Jennings and Damian Duffy, Graphic Novelists and ICA Reads featured authors
  • Amanda Torres, Artistic Director and Co-Founder, MassLeap
  • Eden Bekele, Editor of Pigment

RSVP here.


ICA Teen Programs are sponsored by UNIQLO.

Uniqlo logo

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-16-0305-16.

Additional support is provided by the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank
of America, N.A., Trustee; the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.; the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation; the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; the Surdna Foundation; the Tiny Tiger Foundation; and The Willow Tree Fund.

Institute of Museum and Library Services logo

The ICA’s Teen Arts Council and Teen Nights are generously sponsored by MFS Investment Management and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. 

MFS logo

 

Created, implemented, and hosted by ICA teens, the Current is an ongoing series of gatherings for youth dialogue and engagement around social issues through the arts. The spring installment will take its cue from Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today, with Boston teen artists presenting original artwork ranging from drawing to film to poetry based on the theme of living in a digital world.


Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-17-0447-17.

Additional support is provided by The Angell Foundation; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; John Hancock; the Massachusetts Cultural Council YouthReach program; MFS Investment Management; the Merriam Family Fund; Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.; the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation; The Rodman Family; the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; the Nathaniel Saltonstall Arts Fund; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; the Surdna Foundation; UNIQLO; and The Willow Tree Fund.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Logo

Mass Cultural Council logo

 

Join us for teen-led tours byTeen Arts Council of the exhibition Huma Bhabha: They Live. Look and talk about the questions, experiences, and issues that these works bring up for you. Then dive deeper with TAC into issues of displacement, including how they impact communities in Boston.

 


Lead support for Teen Programs provided by Wagner Foundation.

Wagner Foundation logo

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-17-0447-17.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Logo

The ICA’s Teen Arts Council and Teen Nights are generously sponsored by Vertex and MFS Investment Management and are made possible, in part, through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
 

Vertex logo

 

MFS logo

 

Additional support is provided by the Surdna Foundation; the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; The Corkin Family; the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.; and The Willow Tree Fund.

Join us for performances and exhibitions of work by ICA teens. This evening will include performances, a photography exhibition, a film screening, and more.

 


Lead support for Teen Programs provided by Wagner Foundation.

Wagner Foundation logo

Support for Teen New Media programs is generously provided by John Hancock and Vertex.

John Hancock logo

Vertex logo

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-17-0447-17.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Logo

Additional support is provided by the Surdna Foundation; the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; The Corkin Family; the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.; and The Willow Tree Fund. 

Please note: this event takes place at the ICA Watershed

Join Marlon Orozco, ICA teaching artist, and Betsy Gibbons, Director of Teen Programs, as they discuss the process of working on the ICA Teen photography exhibition A Community in Focus: East Boston, plus hear from the artists themselves.

 


Free admission to the ICA Watershed is made possible by the generosity of Alan and Vivien Hassenfeld and the Hassenfeld Family Foundation.

The Boston Foundation welcomes you to the ICA Watershed.

The ICA Watershed is supported by Fund for the Arts, a public art program of the New England Foundation for the Arts.

 

The Boston Foundation logo

NEFA logo

Framing for A Community in Focus: East Boston provided by Stanhope Framers.

Stanhope Framers logo

 

This installation of photographs created by teens from the ICA’s digital photography programs highlights their perspectives on East Boston—home for many of them. This initiative was an opportunity to highlight their daily observations and discover new neighborhood sights. Individuals associated with East Boston’s Atlantic Works Gallery, Eastie Farm, and Zumix guided the photographers to favorite sights, introduced them to community members, and shared stories about themselves and the neighborhood.

The ICA provided teens with digital cameras to document the people and places, which helped them to gain a better understanding of placemaking and of East Boston’s past and present, and to imagine the neighborhood’s future and their own place within it. Many of the teens continued this exploration on their own time, with cameras in hand. Says ICA Teaching Artist Marlon Orozco, “From exploring the waterline art installations to public gardens, our teens went beyond the lens.”

 


Lead support for Teen Programs provided by Wagner Foundation.

Wagner Foundation logo

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-17-0447-17.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Logo

Support for Teen New Media programs is generously provided by John Hancock and Vertex.

John Hancock logo

Vertex logo

Additional support is provided by the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; The Corkin Family; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; The Willow Tree Fund; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Plymouth Rock Foundation; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; and the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Framing for A Community in Focus: East Boston provided by Stanhope Framers.

Stanhope Framers logo

Teens, educators, artists, and more convened to exchange and debate ideas about the intersection between teen arts education and social justice. A publication about the 2019 Teen Convening/National will be available for download in late 2020.

2019 Partner Organizations

  • The Andy Warhol Museum
  • Contemporary Jewish Museum
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Milwaukee Art Museum
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson
  • RISD Museum
  • Walker Art Center

Public Day: Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Performance

Teen Convening Artists Adobo-Fish-Sauce (Anthony Febo and Ricky Orng) performed. Their poems about discovery, healing, and self-preservation through their relationship with food, culture, and heartbreak fed us all, as did their plantains.

Teen Presentations

Teen delegates from each of the eight participating organizations presented on their distinctive programs and institutions.

Public Panel

This panel explored definitions of social justice, ways to be an advocate, the relationship between social justice and education, ways that institutions can work towards social justice, and more. Panelists Sienna Kwami, Ana Masacote, Danny Rivera, and Mariama White-Hammond shared their truths, stories, challenges, and aspirations.

Teen Night: Category Is: ________: Living Your Authentic Truth

Organized by teens for teens, this unforgettable evening featured print-making, gallery experiences, teen performances, a fashion show, and more.

 

Day Two: Thursday, August 8, 2019

Artist Workshop

Teen Convening Artists Adobo-Fish-Sauce helped us create intentional moments with each other. They invited us to collaborate, think creatively, and solve problems together, as well as to think and create on our own. We reflected on the prior day and deepened our bonds of connection and trust.

Roundtable Discussion Sessions

After collaboratively generating questions for discussion, teens and educators broke into smaller groups, chose one of the questions, and unpacked it for 45 minutes. They formed new groups and repeated.

 

Day Three: Friday, August 9, 2019

Educator & Teen Tracks

Educators and teens divided up to discuss the intersection between teen arts education and social justice from their own perspectives.

Group Wrap Session

The group came back together to share, express gratitude, give affimations, and say farewell for now.

 


Lead support for Teen Programs provided by Wagner Foundation.

Wagner Foundation logo

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-17-0447-17.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Logo

 

Additional support is provided by the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; The Corkin Family; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; The Willow Tree Fund; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Plymouth Rock Foundation; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; and the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Join the ICA Teen Arts Council—15 students from Boston-area high schools—for an unforgettable Teen Night! Organized by teens for teens, this evening features teen-led art tours, art-making activities, and youth performances.


Lead support for Teen Programs provided by Wagner Foundation.

Wagner Foundation logo

Teen Programs are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Award Number MA-10-17-0447-17.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Logo

The ICA’s Teen Arts Council and Teen Nights are generously sponsored by Vertex and MFS Investment Management and are made possible, in part, through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Vertex logo

MFS logo

Additional support is provided by the Rowland Foundation, Inc.; The Corkin Family; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; The Willow Tree Fund; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Plymouth Rock Foundation; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; and the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Hosted by the Teen Arts Council

Join the ICA Teen Arts Council—15 students from Boston-area high schools—for an unforgettable Teen Night! Organized by teens for teens, the evening features teen-led art tours, art-making activities, and youth performances.

Inspired by the 2019 James and Audrey Foster Prize and LOVE IS CALLING. Glimpse into reimagined realities. Dress to express a self you’d be in another realm. Be creative, be spooky, be playful, be whimsical (avoid props or mask!)

Happenings
Karaoke
Open Mic
Performance
Dance Party
Art Making
Gallery Experiences

Note: Timed tickets for Yayoi Kusama: LOVE IS CALLING will be available for the first 100 guests attending Teen Night, first-come, first-served, in person only. Capacity is LIMITED during Teen Night and visitors may not get tickets the day of their visit or may experience long wait times in line.


Lead support for Teen Programs provided by Wagner Foundation.

Wagner Foundation logo

The ICA’s Teen Arts Council and Teen Nights are generously sponsored by Vertex and MFS Investment Management and are made possible, in part, through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Vertex logo

MFS logo

Additional support is provided by the Surdna Foundation; Rowland Foundation, Inc.; The Corkin Family; the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust; The Willow Tree Fund; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Plymouth Rock Foundation; the Jean Gaulin Foundation; and the Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.