Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)

Front of the Institute of contemporary art during the evening with students gathered around.
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Front of the Institute of contemporary art during the evening with students gathered around.
Students lying on the ground in a room looking at a projected presentation on the wall.

Mission & Values
 

ICA is a launchpad for contemporary art and ideas, and a place of possibility. We create transformative experiences with art across disciplines and encourage bold experimentation, deep connection, and boundless curiosity among artists and audiences alike.

Our Mission is informed by our core values of Collaboration, Experimentation and Learning: 

  • Collaboration: We believe that working in partnership creates a more resilient, thriving, and joyous world. We engage with artists and organizations to build inclusive, vibrant creative ecosystems on campus, throughout Philadelphia, and beyond.

  • Experimentation: We believe that risk-taking leads to the freedom necessary for cultural transformation. We support artists to make daring, cross-disciplinary projects that defy expectations, disrupt form, and challenge the status quo—advancing practices across the fields of art and culture.

  • Learning: We believe that creative thinking is foundational to how we grow as individuals and collectively evolve. We are an evolving community of practice that produces vital scholarship and generous, bold programming that inspire conversations across disciplines, ages, classes, races, and abilities.

History

ICA was founded in 1963 by the visionary dean of the School of Fine Arts (today’s Weitzman School of Design), Holmes Perkins, who wanted to expose students to what was “new and happening” in art and culture. In the decades since ICA has developed an international reputation as a preeminent venue for contemporary art and culture. A non-collecting museum, ICA is also one of the only kunsthalles in America. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, our artist-centric program is complemented by the intellectual rigor of a premier academic institution.
 

Since its founding, ICA exhibitions have aimed to bring under-recognized artists to the attention of the broader world. This was true in 1965 when we organized Andy Warhol’s first ever solo museum show, helping propel him to superstardom; when we presented early shows of artists like Laurie Anderson, Richard Artschwager, Vija Celmins, Karen Kilimnik, Charles LeDray, Barry Le Va, Glenn Ligon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Agnes Martin, Damian Ortega, Pepon Osorio, Tavares Strachan, and Cy Twombly; and it remains true today.