School Tours

Students explore the ICA’s architecture, special exhibitions and/or the permanent collection with a guided tour, then delve into their own hands-on investigations and problem-solving with a related art making activity in the Bank of America Art Lab. Organized around themes exploring ideas, materials and processes in contemporary art, architecture and design, these combined Tour + Art Lab programs are offered in two-hour blocks (approximately one hour gallery visit and one hour Art Lab.) This combined program is offered on the following days
and times. Three weeks advance notice is required to schedule.

Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday
10 am – 12 pm, 11 am – 1 pm, or 12 – 2 pm
Thursdays only, 4 – 6 pm (for after-school groups)

To book these tours, please return to the Group Visits page, fill out the registration form and return it to the Tour Program Manager as instructed. Please note that the form must be recieved at least 3 weeks prior to the tour date.

Tour + Art Lab Themes

Architecture and Design
The new ICA museum is unique. Step inside this work of art and learn about the design concepts related to the building. Take note of the architects' choices of materials from inside and outside the museum, discover how they solved both practical and engineering challenges, and gain an appreciation of how and why they built-in a relationship to our immediate surroundings as well as to the city of Boston. Then in the Bank of America Art Lab students try their hands at working with similar design concepts on a smaller scale. Choose from sculptural collage, creating a 3-D installation "inside out and upside down," with the group or constructing 3-D building models to withstand the wind.

Ordinary to Extraordinary: Understanding Materials and Process
Pins and needles! Burnt wood and rubber bands! These are just some of the everyday and unconventional materials you'll find used in art works in our permanent collection. Contemporary artists often get creative ideas for their work from non-traditional materials. Find out how and why artists such as Tara Donovan, Cornelia Parker, and Mona Hatoum transform ordinary materials into remarkable works of art. In the Art Lab, students use imagination and humor to create sculptures that transform ordinary materials into their own out-of-the-ordinary art works.

Summer 2008: Taking Shape and Form to New Places
See the fantastic, large-scale sculptures of Anish Kapoor, and explore this exhibit in depth. Kapoor plays with the element of space and uses a variety of materials and colors to achieve different visual effects. Learn about the inspiration and ideas behind these extraordinary pieces. The gallery tour will be followed by art lab investigations. Students will have the opportunity to construct sculptures individually or in small groups using a wide assortment of tools and materials and to discuss their artistic decisions following completion of the projects.

Tours and Art Lab activities are made possible by support from Bank of America, The Fuller Foundation, the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and the William E. and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust.