
Photo courtesy of Phaidon
Join ICA’s Ellen Matilda Poss Director Jill Medvedow in conversation with writer, curator, and podcaster Helen Molesworth on her new book, Open Questions: Thirty Years of Writing about Art (Phaidon). Over the past three decades, Molesworth’s singular voice and lively curatorial vision has established her as one of the most dynamic and influential voices in the world of contemporary art. Open Questions, the first ever collection of her writings, presents 24 essays from the past 30 years, gathered from exhibition catalogs and art publications such as Artforum, Documents, frieze, and October. In this wide-ranging conversation, Molesworth and Medvedow will explore art’s unique capacity for merging knowledge and feeling, reflections on Molesworth’s past writing, and new ways of viewing and thinking about contemporary art.
Helen Molesworth is a writer, curator, and podcaster based in Los Angeles. Her major monographic exhibitions include Ruth Asawa, Moyra Davey, Noah Davis, Steve Locke, Kerry James Marshall, Josiah McElheny, Catherine Opie, Amy Sillman, and Luc Tuymans. Molesworth, a prolific and award-winning author, is the recipient a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Clark Art Writing Prize, and the Bard Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Curatorial Excellence. Her podcast Death of an Artist made numerous “Best of 2022” lists. Molesworth was the ICA’s Barbara Lee Chief Curator from 2010 to 2014. The first ever collection of her writings, Open Questions: Thirty Years of Writing about Art, is available now from Phaidon.
The Teen Exhibitions Program, in collaboration with Boston Caribbean Fashion Week, presents Teen Fashion Night Out. Join us for workshops led by fashion professionals, create upcycled wearable art, enjoy free snacks and beverages, and connect with each other and experts in beauty, culture, fashion, and style.
BCFW is a multi-day diverse series of festive fashion events founded and produced by Althea Blackford. BCFW focus is about beauty, culture, fashion, and style. It’s a time to celebrate the Caribbean culture through fashion.
The ICA welcomes and endeavors to provide a positive, engaging, and inclusive experience for all visitors. Learn more about Accessibility at Seaport Studio. These efforts are ongoing and the ICA welcomes questions and feedback about current accommodations and ongoing initiatives at accessibility@icaboston.org or 617-478-3100.
ICA Seaport Studio
100 Pier 4 Blvd, Second Floor (Entrance on Seaport Blvd)
Boston, MA 02110
ICA Teen Arts Council presents Teen Night! Enjoy a night where teens take over the museum! Inspired by the exhibition Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today.
Happenings
Join fellow educators for an evening of art and community. Learn about field trip offerings, teacher resources, and more. Explore current exhibitions, including Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s to Today, and consider form, transformation, and light while making your own shadow puppet in Shadow Play, the Bank of America Art Lab installation developed by Boston artist Lily Xie.
Active and pre-service K-12 teachers of all disciplines, school administrators, and out-of-school time educators are all welcome.
Drop by the Watershed on Sunday, October 29 for El Dia de los Muertos produced by Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC). VROCC has collaborated with local artists, organizations and community centers in East Boston to create 20 ofrendas, or Day of the Dead altars, to honor the lives of their ancestors. These altars can include numerous items that represents a part of the journey and cultural celebration to honor life and death.
The ICA Watershed will be open for viewing of El Dia de los Muertos. ICA Water Shuttles will not be running.
Celebrate the opening of the ICA’s newest exhibition, Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today, with Caribbean vibes from DJ Kenszwrth, spotlight talks led by Graduate Student Lecturers, dance lessons by Masacote Entertainment, and Caribbean inspired eats!
Reserve free gallery tickets on the day of at 10 AM
Masacote Entertainment specializes in performing and teaching Afro-Latin Dance. It has been featured at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Berklee Performance Center. The troupe has also toured extensively across 5 continents, earning an international reputation as ambassadors of Afro-Latin dance and music. Masacote’s awards include the 2015 New England Salsa Music Award for lifetime achievement in dance.
The ICA is offering FREE museum admission for all on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Monday, October 9. Advanced tickets are required and will be available to reserve beginning on Sunday, October 8 at 10 AM.
Get a first look at our newest exhibition Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s—Today.
Additionally, check out the Bank of America Art Lab’s installation Shadow Play, open from 12–4 PM. Art Lab activities are drop-in and first-come, first-serve, and capacity is limited.
Join us for a day of family fun! Explore different ways of telling a story through artmaking, music, and performance. Reserve free admission tickets online in advance*. All activities are drop-in, first come first served, space is limited.
*On Saturday, September 30, museum admission is FREE for families when accompanied by kids ages 12 and under, with up to 2 adults per family. Tickets must be reserved online in advance. Use the code PLAYDATE when reserving your ticket(s). Advance tickets are strongly recommended; day-of tickets are not guaranteed.
Art Lab, 1st Floor
Enter the world of Jo Ham’s dynamic character Rabbit by choosing your favorite Rabbit print (selection to be supplied) and letting your imagination create the wider story to make their own Yippee or Uh-Oh moment! Landscapes, room sets, new characters, colorful props and more can all be added using paint, pens, stickers and craft materials, with help on hand from the HAM team. While supplies last.
Art Lab, 1st Floor
Meet beloved illustrator, artist, and now author Jo Ham, and get your copies of her new children’s books Yippee! Rabbit and Uh Oh! Rabbit! signed! Copies of the books and other HAM selects will be available to be purchased on site — including a special limited edition print to celebrate the occasion, only available at the ICA Store!
Outdoors, Grandstand + Plaza
Circus musicians, vaudeville entertainers, and real-life brothers AJ & Colescott present an all-ages show of interactive musical storytelling, complete with acrobatics, unicycling, juggling, and unbridled silliness!
4th Floor, Mediatheque
Join for a staff led reading of family-friendly storybooks and make connections to artworks on view. Drop-in, first come, first serve, space is limited.
4th Floor, Galleries
Our Visitor Assistants (VA) are always eager to talk about the artworks and answer your questions. Pick up a gallery game card to explore the museum as a “Thinker, Maker, Explorer, or Performer”. Great for a variety of ages and for intergenerational audiences to play together. Cards are available on the 1st and 4th floor near the elevators. Questions? Ask a VA on the 4th floor. Only #2 pencils allowed in the galleries.
1st Floor, ICA Wine + Coffee Bar
Stop by the ICA Wine + Coffee Bar for a free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate with the purchase of a HAM mug.
Jo Ham graduated from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, where she gained a degree in fine art with a focus on anatomy. In 2011, she formed her studio—HAM, developing bespoke products and artwork for global brands, creating large-scale installations, and raising funds and awareness for charity. Informed by her studies and early career in design, Jo has always been fascinated by popular culture and uses Rabbit to shine a light on life’s simple pleasures—in particular how we interact with one another through work and play. The resulting social commentary creates Rabbit’s happy world, where our daily rituals, likes, and hobbies are immortalized in print for all to enjoy. In 2018, Jo was awarded the Aviva Women of the Future Arts and Culture Prize and the NatWest Great British Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year. Jo’s work can be found online at hammade.com and on Instagram at @HamJoanna.
AJ and Colescott Rubin are Boston-based circus musicians & vaudeville entertainers who lift spirits and make smiles wherever they go, performing swing & popular songs of yesteryear with a lighthearted energy and danceable beat. Known internationally for their unicycling, juggling, & acrobatics while playing instruments, they play sold out shows from coast to coast. They have performed and/or recorded with Esperanza Spalding, Old Crow Medicine Show, Patrice Rushen, Catherine Russell, Charmaine Neville, & John Legend, and around the world in New Orleans, Iceland, Moscow, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and elsewhere. Student and staff at Berklee College of Music, respectively, they are recipients of the 2021 City of Boston Opportunity Fund Award, and recently made their debut recording on all pre-1930s recording equipment in NYC. They play stadium halftime shows as the house brass band for the major league rugby team of New England and make their circus debut September 2023 in NYC.
Free Admission for Youth
Youth 18 and under always receive FREE museum admission. The ICA is committed to providing access to the art and artists of our time—and we do this with the incredible support of our community. Explore the +1 Membership — A free ICA membership program for youth 0-18.
Questions? Reach us at familyprograms@icaboston.org.
Your support helps keeps programs like this – both virtual and in-person – free and accessible in this time of uncertainty. If you are able, please consider becoming a member or making a one-time gift to support the ICA.
Artists Cicely Carew, Venetia Dale, and Yu-Wen Wu—the featured artists in the ICA’s 2023 James and Audrey Foster Prize exhibition—come together for a conversation on art and life in Boston as visual artists. Hear about their creative practices in this public program moderated by Assistant Curator, Anni Pullagura.
2023 James and Audrey Foster Prize is on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston from August 24, 2023, to January 28, 2024.
The ICA partners with Thaddeus Miles—photographer, community activist, and founder of the Black Joy Project—to kick off a weekend of festivities centered around the fourth annual Black Joy Day in the City of Boston. This outdoor program at the ICA features performances by some of the city’s best talents, including Oompa, Gogo, and DJ Jo.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tori Tori and Latrell James will not appear as originally planned.
Black Joy Day is FREE, and tickets are not required to attend the performances! Museum admission is free from 5 to 9. Free tickets will be available at 10 AM on September 8.
More than just a jubilation, Black Joy Day stands tall as a radiant beacon of resistance. Through the harmony of Black music, the depth of poetry, and profound dialogues on restorative justice, we aim to amplify the empowerment and resilience of Black voices worldwide. In the words of Thaddeus Miles, “Black Joy Day is more than a moment, it’s a movement. A symphony of voices, talents, and spirits, echoing the resilience, love, and vibrancy of our community. Let’s come together to feel, heal, and revel in the rhythm of joy.”