San Francisco gets its own Institute of Contemporary Art
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Sunday, October 6, 2024


San Francisco gets its own Institute of Contemporary Art
Ali Gass, formerly the head of the ICA San Jose and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, has raised $2.5 million to start a new institution called the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Ulysses Ortega via The New York Times.

by Jori Finkel



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Several cities from Philadelphia to Los Angeles have museums called Institutes of Contemporary Art, or ICAs, which are known for being experimental and nimble and for not having permanent collections. Now San Francisco is getting one of its own.

Ali Gass, formerly the head of the ICA San Jose and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, has raised $2.5 million to start a new institution called the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. It will be located in the Dogpatch area of the city, which is already a cultural destination with many studios and galleries.

The plan is to support and showcase emerging Bay Area artists “who are ready for national and international attention,” Gass said, as well as exhibit projects by more established artists, with a roughly 50-50 split. Gass, who will serve as director, explained that social justice is part of the museum’s DNA, as it was born from the racial and social reckonings of the last 18 months.

“Starting an institution from scratch allows us to think deeply about contemporary art as a navigation tool for local and global issues,” she said, citing the extreme wealth disparity in San Francisco as one example of an issue that artists could explore.

Attention to economic justice is also one reason that Gass prefers the noncollecting model. “Collections cost an enormous amount to display and preserve,” she said. “One of the tenets of ICA SF is to address issues of pay equity for artists and staff. Instead of an arms race of collecting, we are committed to paying artists and museum workers an above-average salary for our region.”

Art collectors Andy and Deborah Rappaport, who founded the Minnesota Street Project gallery complex in Dogpatch, are the ICA SF’s leading and most closely involved funders. In addition to making a million-dollar donation, they are through the Minnesota Street Project Foundation underwriting a 15-year lease for the museum’s building: an 11,000-square-foot space that used to be a children’s gymnasium.

Andy Rappaport is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Other early donors also have serious tech credentials, including Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger and his wife, Kaitlyn Trigger; Reach Capital partner Wayee Chu and her husband, Ethan Beard; and Kindred Ventures partner Kanyi Maqubela and his wife, Martha Muña. (One sign that this ICA is already operating differently from the big museums in town? It has set up an account with the Giving Block for supporters who wish to make their donations in bitcoin or other cryptocurrency.)

The museum plans to open to the public, free of charge, by the fall of 2022, with a preview of the space in January during the FOG Design+Art Fair.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

September 9, 2021

Toomey & Co. Auctioneers to hold 'Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts' sale

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, acquires Souls Grown Deep Foundation works

Flashpoint US statue of Confederate general removed in Richmond

San Francisco gets its own Institute of Contemporary Art

Martos Gallery opens "The Collective: Chosen Family"

Avery Singer presents two new series of large-scale paintings at Hauser & Wirth

Alberto Vilar, arts patron convicted of fraud, dies at 80

Unseen Photo Fair 2021: Spectacular edition will be held from September 17-19

Phillips to host 'Reframing Beauty: A Private Seattle Collection'

Exhibition at Osservatorio Fondazione Prada explores computer-generated imagery practices

Exhibition brings together a fresh mix of emerging voices from the international scene

David Diao's first solo exhibition in the UK opens at Gazelli Art House

Megan Rooney's first solo exhibition at Thaddaeus Ropac opens in London

Solo presentation of works by artist Gracie DeVito opens at The New York Studio School

Halloween's Jamie Lee Curtis: 'I hate horror movies'

Galerie Karsten Greve opens an exhibition featuring a selection of fifteen canvases by Qiu Shihua

Carnegie Museum of Art opens fall exhibition 'Wild Life: Elizabeth Murray & Jessi Reaves'

Exhibition of eight new paintings by Amie Cunat opens at Dinner Gallery

BC McMullen Museum opens first major US exhibition on Cuban modernist painter Mariano Rodríguez

BP Portrait Award winner Richard Twose mines his incredible life story in new show

Cantor Art Gallery at Holy Cross exhibits works by artist and Civil Rights activist Elizabeth Catlett

Brooklyn community mourns Michael K. Williams: 'He never stayed away'

Igor Oistrakh, Soviet-era violinist (and a son of one), dies at 90

A pandemic, then a hurricane, brings New Orleans musicians 'to their knees'

Frank conversations about making a living in dance

Tips for buying a used home. Do not be fooled!

Free vs Paid VPNs. Which Is Better for Streaming Netflix in 2021

The Best Canadian Casinos 2021

WHY HIRE A WEB DESIGN SERVICE COMPANY?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful