Institute of Contemporary Art

Institute of Contemporary Art Free admission! We believe in the power of art and artists to inform and inspire. ICA is free (for all) to engage and connect with the art of our time.
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Admission

ICA is Free for All! Free admission to the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania for the public is sponsored by the Amanda (C95) and Glenn (W87/WG88) Fuhrman Fund. PLEASE NOTE: ICA will be closed until September 17, 2021.

⭐️✨ A night of art, rhythm, and poetry✨⭐️  If you know us, you know we love to move, groove and celebrate creativity! Jo...
02/02/2024

⭐️✨ A night of art, rhythm, and poetry✨⭐️

If you know us, you know we love to move, groove and celebrate creativity! Join us on February 9th for an unforgettable evening marking the opening of our spring 2024 exhibitions.

👥 Connect with the stellar artists behind the exhibits

🎤 Enjoy live performances by Philly’s poetic gems: Kai Davis () and Yolanda Wisher ()

🍴Indulge in delightful bites by

🎶 And bop along to an all vinyl set by

Don’t miss this very special chance to be among the first to see Tomashi Jackson: Across the Universe, Alberta Whittle and Dominique White: Sargasso Sea, and Entryways: Nontsikelelo Mutiti. RSVP for this free.99 event using the link in our bio.

Join our team! ICA is seeking a Director of Communications and Content to lead and oversee communications and creative p...
12/13/2023

Join our team! ICA is seeking a Director of Communications and Content to lead and oversee communications and creative production efforts for ICA. They will define and design an architecture for ICA’s communications and content that consistently reflects ICA’s public voice, raises the institution’s visibility among diverse audiences, and positions ICA as a thought leader across the fields of arts and culture.

Click the link in our bio to learn more and apply.

Today, we want to give thanks to you, our visitors, students, community members, artists, curators, art lovers and more....
11/23/2023

Today, we want to give thanks to you, our visitors, students, community members, artists, curators, art lovers and more. You all support ICA’s mission and our work to provide impactful art experiences.
 
This holiday season, channel the spirit of 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘻: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦, which embraces a sense of home that defies conventional definitions. For Cruz, home emerges from the bonds of community and chosen family. It is sustained by a sense of possibility and belonging inspired by memories shared with loved ones.



𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘻: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦. Installation view. Photo by Constance Mensh ()

ICA is a place of possibility and a launchpad for contemporary art and ideas.Make a gift to ICA today, and you will help...
11/14/2023

ICA is a place of possibility and a launchpad for contemporary art and ideas.

Make a gift to ICA today, and you will help create possibilities for contemporary art to inform, challenge, and inspire.

Throughout our 60-year history, ICA’s audiences have come to expect the unexpected and discover new perspectives whenever they step into our building — your support makes that happen.

Your Annual Fund gift makes ICA possible for the next 60 years. Thank you for your support.



Image: Constance Mensh

🗓️ November @ ICA 🗓️ This month at ICA, art teaches us what love is! Join us for opportunities to learn for the work of ...
11/05/2023

🗓️ November @ ICA 🗓️

This month at ICA, art teaches us what love is! Join us for opportunities to learn for the work of David Antonio Cruz and Nicole Cherubini as well as for multiple opportunities to mix, mingle, and sing with fellow art lovers.

On November 8 at 8PM, exhibiting artist David Antonio Cruz and guest curator Monique Long reflect on the process for creating When the Children Come Home – a momentous survey exhibition of Cruz’s work on view at ICA through December 17th.

On November 9 at 6PM, don't miss a Weitzman Visiting Artist Lecture Series featuring visual artist and sculptor, Nicole Cherubini.

On November 10 and 17, join Penn MFA candidates, Gayoung Lee and Catching on Thieves for Teach Me What Love Is –– an interactive karaoke-based workshop dedicated to promoting intercultural understanding and unity.

On November 17 at 5 pm, Penn's Monolith Arts Collective invites Philly-based students and artists to mingle, network and enjoy refreshments in celebration of the city's vibrant arts community.

Click the link in our bio to find out more about and register for ICA’s upcoming free programming.

Make your weekend a bit more colorful and join us this Sunday for a special performance of green,howiwantyougreen, an ex...
10/20/2023

Make your weekend a bit more colorful and join us this Sunday for a special performance of green,howiwantyougreen, an experimental operatic performance piece written by David Antonio Cruz with music by Daniel de Jesus. Based on Sonnets of Dark Love –– the last eleven poems by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, which were banned for 50 years following his assassination –– the bilingual script fuses references to popular culture, q***r slang, and Latino and Black gay culture to explore love and desire in dark places.

Of his performance work, Cruz shares: "I think of them as the A-side and B-side of a vinyl: performance on one side of my work, painting on the other. They’re different, but they exist in the same space. They influence each other, they live within the same space, they breathe the same air, and have the same colors.”

green,howIwantyougreen is performed by David Antonio Cruz, Jennifer Jade Ledesna, Diego Carvajal Peñaranda, Lisa Strum, and musicians Daniel de Jesus and Samuel Thompson. Photos by Alaina Simone Inc. at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.

"The clear and well-defined forms that live around us are proof of the greatness of formations and creations beyond what...
10/11/2023

"The clear and well-defined forms that live around us are proof of the greatness of formations and creations beyond what is visible on earth." – Gego

Tuesday, October 17 at 6PM, learn about how German-born, Venezuelan artist Gertrude Goldschmidt (1912–94), known as Gego, reimagined modern sculpture by incorporating architecture, craftsmanship, and design thinking into her work during our next In Conversation program. Join author and curator, Mónica Amor, and ICA’s Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director, Zoë Ryan as they unpack the thorough research and careful analysis behind Gego: Weaving the Space in Between –– the first extended study of Gego's life and work, written by Amor.

Register for the program using the link in our bio. Stop by ICA at 5PM that evening for a chance to see our newest exhibitions during special extended hours.

🗓️ October @ ICA 🗓️ This month, join us for conversations with artists, authors, and filmmarkers, capture your chosen fa...
10/06/2023

🗓️ October @ ICA 🗓️

This month, join us for conversations with artists, authors, and filmmarkers, capture your chosen family, and dance the night away at ICA.

Last night, we kicked off October with the first lecture this season in our series with Weitzman School of Design with artist and filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson.

On October 17 at 6PM, join us for a conversation between author and curator, Mónica Amor and ICA’s Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director, Zoë Ryan in celebration of the Philadelphia launch of 𝘎𝘦𝘨𝘰: 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯. This monograph is the first extended study of the life and work of German-born, Venezuelan artist Gertrude Goldschmidt (1912–94), known as Gego.

On October 22 at 4PM, a performance of greenhowIwantyougreen, an operatic performance piece written by David Antonio Cruz with musical composition by Daniel de Jesus, will take over our terrace.

Mark your calendars for a night of glitz and glam on November 2 for Paint the Dancefloor.

Click the link in our bio to find out more about and register for ICA’s upcoming free programming.

Congrats to the 2023 MacArthur Fellows recently announced! We're thrilled to see Carolyn Lazard as one of this year's re...
10/05/2023

Congrats to the 2023 MacArthur Fellows recently announced! We're thrilled to see Carolyn Lazard as one of this year's recipients whose work was presented at ICA last spring in 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥: 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦. The MacArthur Fellowship is awarded to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits.

"The 2023 MacArthur Fellows are applying individual creativity with global perspective, centering connections across generations and communities,” said Marlies Carruth, MacArthur Fellows director in a statement. “They forge stunning forms of artistic expression from ancestral and regional traditions, heighten our attention to the natural world, improve how we process massive flows of information for the common good, and deepen understanding of systems shaping our environment.”

Photo: Constance Mensh ()

This Thursday at 6PM, join us for the first conversation in our a series of lecures presented in partnership with the St...
10/04/2023

This Thursday at 6PM, join us for the first conversation in our a series of lecures presented in partnership with the Stuart Weitzman School of Design (). Artist and filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson () will speak to his practice which explores poignant and profound moments that can be uncovered in the ordinariness of daily life. Drawing from his experiences growing up in the American Midwest, he examines black life at the intersection of class, race, and history.

Everson's work appeared in the first chapter of ICA's three-part exhibition Colored People Time: Mundane Futures, curated by Meg Onli (). Mundane Futures aimed to develop a discourse around the future of black cultural production. Attempting to look beyond science fiction and fantasy, the exhibition peered into a future focused on the ordinary through the lens of four contemporary artists: Martine Syms, Kevin Jerome Everson, Aria Dean and Dave McKenzie.

Register to attend this free hybrid event at the link in our bio. Captioning will be available for this program via Zoom.

Slide 1: Photo by Oona Monsna

Slide 2:Installation view, Colored People Time: Mundane Futures, 2019. Photo by Constance Mensh ()

Thank you, thank you, thank you!A huge thank you to all of our colleagues and friends who came out to celebrate 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦...
09/13/2023

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

A huge thank you to all of our colleagues and friends who came out to celebrate 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 and 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘻: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦. We had a lively evening filled with and .

A heartfelt congratulations to the artists and curators: Moveables Co-Curators Alex Klein () and Cole Akers (.akers) as well as the featured artists Hannah Levy (), Oren Pinhassi (), Ken Lum (), Nikita Gale (), and Jes Fan (.k.fan). Congratulations to David Antonio Cruz (), and David Antonio Cruz () and Monique Long (), the respective artist and curator for When the Children Come Home.

Missed the chance to celebrate with us last week? Keep an eye out for upcoming programs at icaphila.org or through the link in our bio.

🗓️ September @ ICA  🗓️ This month, join us for DJ sets, dancing, and a film screening you won’t want to miss.Tonight at ...
09/08/2023

🗓️ September @ ICA 🗓️

This month, join us for DJ sets, dancing, and a film screening you won’t want to miss.

Tonight at 6PM, we will celebrate 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 and 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 with sweet and savory refreshments, a performance from Los Bomberos de La Calle ( ), and a DJ set by April Hunt ().

On September 20 at 6PM, join us for a screening of “Angola Do You Hear Us?” presented in partnership with Mural Arts (), Aubin Pictures (), and MTV Documentary Films (). The doc follows playwright Liza Jessie Peterson (), whose acclaimed play “The Peculiar Patriot” was shut down midperformance at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

On September 30 at 7pm, dancer, composer, and movement educator Sigrid Lauren () activates exhibiting artist Hannah Levy’s meticulously crafted stainless steel stilts through a choreographed performance on our terrace.

Click the link in our bio to find out more about and register for ICA’s upcoming programming.

Address

118 S 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA
19104

Opening Hours

Friday 6pm - 9pm
Saturday 12pm - 6pm
Sunday 12pm - 6pm

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