Advance tickets are recommended and are available for visits through July.
Nari Ward, Naturalization Drawing Table, 2004. Plexiglas, crenellation table, and INS naturalization application, two parts: table 45 x 51 x 99 inches; chair 34 x 22 x 21 inches. Courtesy the artist; Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, and Havana; and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong. Installation view, Nari Ward: Sun Splashed, Pérez Art Museum Miami, 2015-16. Photo by STUDIO LHOOQ. © Nari Ward
Participate in artist Nari Ward’s artwork Naturalization Drawing Table, in conjunction with his exhibition Nari Ward: Sun Splashed. Based on Ward’s personal experience of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, this interactive artwork gives museum visitors a better understanding of that process. Each participant will receive a set of prints from the artist.
Individuals must be 16 years of age or older and have a valid photo ID to participate.
Adam J. Kurtz (aka ADAMJK) is an artist and author whose illustrative work is rooted in optimism, humor, and a little darkness. He is interested in the ephemera of daily life and creating honest, accessible work. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages and his work for clients like Strand Bookstore and Urban Outfitters has been featured in the New Yorker, VICE, Adweek, and more.
His latest book, Things Are What You Make of Them, is a handwritten essay collection that tackles the creative process and realities of entrepreneurship. At this event, Adam will perform a short reading, followed by a signing and an ICA retail pop-up featuring a selection of his books, pins, patches, and tableware.
Faith Ringgold, For the Women’s House, 1971. Oil on canvas, 96 x 96 inches (243.8 x 243.8 cm). Courtesy the Rose M. Singer Center, Rikers Island Correctional Center. © 2017 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Arthur Jafa, Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death (Hortense Spillers, still), 2016. Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome. © Arthur Jafa
Installation view, ICA Collection: Entangled in the Everyday, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2018. Photo by Charles Mayer Photography
Installation View, Diana Thater, the ICA Watershed, 2018. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London/Hong Kong. Photo by Liza Voll Photography © Diana Thater
Photo by Natasha Moustache
Photo by Maya Rafie
In honor of Labor Day the ICA is offering FREE admission for all on Monday, September 3.
In Hybrid-Digital Home New York-based artist Saya Woolfalk has collaborated with her six-year-old daughter, Aya Woolfalk Mitchell, to reinvent the ICA’s Bank of America Art Lab as a warm domestic environment. From 11 AM to 4 PM, contribute drawings to be digitally patternized and added to the wall, creating a collaboratively generated portrait of home.
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85
Focusing on the work of black female artists, this is the first exhibition to highlight the voices and experiences of women of color—as distinct from the primarily white, middle-class mainstream feminist movement—in order to reorient conversations about race, feminism, political action, and art in this significant historical period.
Arthur Jafa: Love is the Message, The Message is Death
Artist, cinematographer, and filmmaker Arthur Jafa has stated his hope to create cinema that “replicates the power, beauty and alienation of black music.” Set to Kanye West’s stirring gospel-inspired “Ultralight Beam,” this single-channel video installation presents a nuanced, multifaceted look at black life in the United States, which the artist sees as both beautiful and painfully fraught.
ICA Collection: Entangled in the Everyday
This installment of the ICA’s annual collection exhibition showcases artists’ engagement and entanglement with the everyday. Interest in common materials and quotidian subjects has been a defining theme of artistic practice in the 20th century; by observing and being in the world, artists make ordinary textures and experiences extraordinary.
The Watershed—a 15,000-square-foot converted warehouse in the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston—is the most talked about art destination of the summer. Ferries from the Seaport to East Boston are free on Labor Day and are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so reserve yours early!
Diana Thater
Diana Thater illuminates the Watershed with immersive projections that reflect on the fragility of the natural world in its inaugural exhibition. Immerse yourself in fields of color, move among projected doplhins, and come face to face with a northern white rhino.
Kevin Beasley,Strange Fruit (Pair 1), 2015. Nike Air Jordan 1 shoes, resin, polyurethane foam, tube socks, shoelaces, rope, speakers, hypercardioid and contact microphones, amplifiers, patch cables, and effects processors, dimensions variable. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Commissioned by the Young Collectors Council with additional funds contributed by Josh Elkes, Younghee Kim-Wait, and Julia and Jamal Nusseibeh, 2014. 2014.74. Courtesy the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong. © Kevin Beasley
Tomashi Jackson will activate Strange Fruit, a sonic sculpture in the exhibition Kevin Beasley.
Visual artist Tomashi Jackson combines painting, textile, sculpture, video, and collage in works that examine the relationships between the aesthetic and the political. She teaches at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Lesley University and exhibits her work widely.
Photo by Ally Schmaling
Installation view, Jason Moran, The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2018. Photo by Liza Voll.
Step into the Jazz Age for an evening of cocktails and live music to celebrate the last week of Jason Moran. Enjoy music by the Lemon Trio while sipping on a French 75 (arrive early: the first 75 ICA members to arrive enjoy a free drink!) and snacking on complimentary artisanal cheeses.
Members get more! Join today
Installation view, ICA Collection: Entangled in the Everyday, 2018. Photo by Natasha Moustache.
Mindfulness meets art as we recognize Slow Art Day—an annual international event that celebrates art! Join an ICA educator for a museum visit that encourages slow looking through guided observation, discussion, and reflection. Tours at 1 PM and 2:30 PM. Free with ICA admission or membership; no preregistration required.
The ICA and the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) present artist Diana Oh’s latest performance installation—The Artist in Their Element—as Artist-In-Community Resident at A.R.T. Oh and a group of “Queer and Trans Identified Powerhouse Influencers of Color,” at the invitation of the artist, will strike a pose for portrait painting that celebrates queer magic and QTPOC love. They’ll each showcase their own personal fashion aesthetic in a staged tableau at the ICA. A commissioned artist will paint their portrait in tableau, and you are invited to observe, muse, sketch, or take in the beauty and applaud! Drawing materials provided; participants also welcome to bring personal sketchbooks and pencils.
Please Note: Seating is first come, first served. RSVP recommended.
This performance installation—The Artist in Their Element—is created and staged by Diana Oh in collaboration with artists of the Boston community. The event is the third installment in the artist’s Clairvoyance series. For more information on Oh and earlier performance installations at Harvard Yard and Boston Public Library, please visit americanrepertorytheater.org.
Photo by Natasha Moustache
Photo by Ally Schmaling
Join us as we celebrate Eastie Week with a special family day at the ICA Watershed featuring art-making activities, pop-up dance performances, tours in English and Spanish, food, music, and fun!
Free Trolley Service is included between the ICA Watershed and the following locations:
Get to know your East Boston community! Thank you to our partners East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, East Boston Social Centers and Maverick Landing Community Services.
Plus, add a boat ride with the purchase of an ICA admission ticket for round-trip Water Shuttle service between East Boston and the Seaport.
Reserve your time slot for the Water Shuttle by purchasing admissions tickets online starting June 26.
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.
Photo by Cassandra Rodriguez
For the 11th year running, the ICA opens its doors at no cost to visitors all day long! Activities for the whole family will take place throughout the day.
For a complete schedule of participating institutions, visit highlandstreet.org.
The ICA SunBar will be operating in the 1st Floor Common Room window during Free Fun Friday.
Note: ICA Water Shuttle service to the Watershed will be available first come, first served throughout the day during this event, in person only.
Free Fun Friday is sponsored by the Highland Street Foundation.
Photo by Caitlin Cunningham
The Mayor’s Greenovate Awards were established to recognize those with outstanding achievement in climate action and environmental sustainability in the Boston community. This year, the awards will take place at the ICA and will be followed by a community event surrounding actions individuals can take on climate here in the City of Boston. The galleries will be open exclusively to Award Ceremony attendees during the networking reception.
Every single Boston resident plays a critical role in reaching Boston’s climate action goals. The Awards party is an opportunity to kick back and celebrate our community’s efforts. Throughout the evening, we will have stations set up dedicated to the city’s climate change related programs like biking in Boston, Climate Ready Boston, recycling and zero waste initiatives, Mass Save energy efficiency audits, and more. This event will be a one stop shop to better understand how you can be part of creating a healthy, resilient, and sustainable city!
Join us as we celebrate Boston’s climate action leaders, announce the 2019 Mayor’s Greenovate Award winners, and celebrate Bostonians who have participated in the Greenovate Boston Leaders Training.