Installation view, Our Memories, Our Stories, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2025. Photo by Timothy Schenck.
Chiharu Shiota’s artworks in the Watershed highlight the importance of place in the stories of people’s lives. In the Harbor Room, continue to explore how a sense of place lives in each of our memories and through materials left behind by visitors and organizations such as the ICA.
Personal Stories
Reflect on a place that is important or transformational for you and create a travel postcard that shares the story of this memorable place. Write a message or borrow inspiration from artist Chiharu Shiota, who says “my drawings are like my diary.” Take home or display your finished postcard for other visitors to discover.
Institutional Stories
The Harbor Room is temporarily housing the ICA Archives, a vast collection of materials from the museum’s expansive 90-year-old history. The documents, photos, books, and other materials reflect the stories, communities, and histories of the museum—one of the first dedicated to contemporary art and artists in the nation. Learn more about this ICA initiative to process and preserve its Archives and join us to view a selection of recently discovered materials.
Chiharu Shiota: Home Less Home is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with Brianne Chapelle, Curatorial Department Coordinator.
The exhibition is supported by the Japan Foundation, the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, and an anonymous donor and featured as part of the Boston Public Art Triennial 2025.
This project is supported by the Barr Foundation and Judi Kaufman and Arthur Rubin.
Our Memories, Our Stories was organized by Janna Doherty, Creative Arts Manager; Monica Garza, Charlotte Wagner Director of Education; Eliza Mecklenburg, Education Coordinator; Kelly Tan, Education Assistant; and Erika Umali, Curator of Collections. Design by Angela Torchio.
