Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA)

Year opened to the public: 1947

Brief history: The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is the UK’s original, not-for-profit, multi-disciplinary arts centre. Originally conceived in 1947 by poet, anarchist, art critic and historian, Herbert Read, alongside a group of artists and patrons including Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Roland Penrose and Peter Watson, as a “laboratory” or “playground” for contemporary arts, it continues to challenge traditional notions and boundaries of art forms essentially by working with artists, curators, musicians, directors and thinkers who share a desire to investigate issues relevant to the wider concerns of today’s world.

Aims and objectives: The ICA is home to the best new art and culture from Britain and around the world. A meeting point for exploration between artists and audiences, the ICA examines the questions that shape our culture, society and individual lives. We believe in creative adventure. In art as inspiration. Ultimately the ICA is not so much a place as a principle. A belief in the new. An enduring faith in the creativity of tomorrow.

Distinct areas of programming: ICA’s mission points, established at its very beginning, are strongly indicative of of the ICA visual arts exhibition programme. These aims are:
To be a public playground for exploring emergent Executive forms and particularly the cross fertilisation of these forms;
To be a space where new kinds of thinking can be explored as a necessary complement to the development of new cultural practices;
To be a public laboratory for experimenting with the conditions under which new young multicultural Britain wishes to explore culture, and for showing how the development of new audiences is integral to the development of new cultural forms;
To collapse the boundaries between educational and arts organisations by becoming a model where wide ranging programming, educational provision and high-level research, modulate one into another.

Number of projects exhibited yearly (total): Last year: 359 projects + 2766 film screenings (of 606 different films)

Most outstanding projects of the last 3-5 years: The last few years have seen ICA work with a dazzling array of opinion formers, cultural leaders, established and emergent artists including: Gerry Adams, Monica Ali, Chris Anderson, John Berger, David Blunkett, Roberto Cuoghi, Enrico David, Beth Ditto, Brian Eno, Malcolm Gladwell, Xiaolu Guo, Mona Hatoum, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Shere Hite, Dennis Hopper, Hanif Kureishi, Mark Leckey, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Jonathan Monk, Lukas Moodysson, Sam Raimi, Martha Rosler, Marjane Satrapi, Tino Seghal, Amartya Sen, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Patti Smith, Wolfgang Tillmans, Vivienne Westwood, Naomi Wolf, Cerith Wyn Evans et al. ICA Exhibitions have sought to establish new modes of exhibition presentation and new forums for cultural discussion with landmark projects such as Nought to Sixty (May – October 2008), which presented 60 emergent artists over 6 months through a range of event, live action practice and exhibition formats, and, Talk Show, (May 2009) which over one month explored the act of speech through a variety of interactive frameworks.

Aims and objectives: ICA programs an incredibly diverse range of public events including films, talks, live art, music, and bar events.

Distinct areas of programming: ICA presents an education program aimed specifically for families, schools, colleges, community groups and students.

Program strands: Fox Reading Room; Student Forum; Work Place (regular workshops with community groups and monthly work placements); Play/Works (family workshops); Teacher Previews; Resource Packs to accompany Visual Arts programme.

Academic: n/a

Number of activities by type per year: Student Forum: 12/year
Play/Works: 12/year
Exhibition-related programmes: 3/year
Work Place : 12 work placements/year; 1 6-month long community group project/year; 2 smaller-scale community group projects/year

Types of publishing/
number per year: ROLAND: The Magazine of the ICA’s Visual Arts Programme is published 6-7 times/year.

Surface area/capacity: Total surface area, 2244 m2.

Type: Two galleries, two 18th century reception rooms (150 standing combined), a fully equipped theatre (350 standing / 180 seated), two cinemas (Cinema 1, 185 seats; Cinema 2, 45 seats), a reading room, a bookshop and a café/bar.

Managing organization: ICA Council: Alison Myners (Chair), Alan Taylor (Deputy Chair), Ajaz Ahmed, David Kotler, Sydney Levinson, Tim Marlow, Monica O’Neill, Malcolm Poynton, Tessa Ross, James Scroggs, Alan Yentob.

Director / CEO: Ekow Eshun (Executive Director)

Curator: Charlotte Bonham-Carter, Matt Williams (Curators,Visual Arts)

The ICA is a non-profit organisation registered in England as an educational charity. The ICA is primarily funded through the Arts Council of England and the City of Westminster.