get tickets

Advance tickets are now available for visits through September 1. Book now

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) announces its 2017 ICA Reads selection: Damian Duffy and John Jennings’s Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. The book is an interpretation of Octavia Butler’s bestselling classic that has quickly become a bestseller itself. An artful take on the book club, ICA Reads presents a book of critical and societal importance and an opportunity to gather for discussion and meet the author(s).

More than 35 years after Kindred’s release, the powerful story continues to draw in new readers with its unforgettable strong female protagonist, Dana, and her deep exploration of the violence and loss of humanity caused by slavery in the United States, and its complex and lasting impact on the present day. A unique introduction for those unfamiliar with Butler’s masterful work, adapted by academics and comics artists Duffy and Jennings, the graphic novel powerfully renders her mysterious and moving story, spanning racial and gender divides in the antebellum South through the 20th century. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz describes Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation as, “A glorious tribute to Octavia Butler’s masterpiece. Extraordinary.” For more information visit.

Held up as an essential work in feminist, science-fiction, and fantasy genres, and a cornerstone of the Afrofuturism movement, Kindred has sold more than 500,000 copies. The intersectionality of race, history, and the treatment of women addressed within the original work remain critical topics in contemporary dialogue, both in the classroom and in the public sphere. Frightening, compelling, and richly imagined, Kindred offers an unflinching look at our complicated social history, transformed by the graphic novel format into a visually stunning work for a new generation of readers.

The Artist’s Voice: Damian Duffy and John Jennings, Thursday, May 4, 7 PM
ICA visitors can meet Duffy and Jennings and join a timely and thought-provoking conversation about Kindred and its lasting impact. Book signing to follow (copies available for purchase at the ICA store). Free admission, first come, first served; tickets available at the box office two hours prior to start of program.

About the Authors

  • John Jennings is Associate Professor of Visual Studies at the University at Buffalo and has written several works on African-American comics creators. His research is concerned with the topics of representation and authenticity, visual culture, visual literacy, social justice, and design pedagogy. He is an accomplished designer, curator, illustrator, cartoonist, and award-winning graphic novelist, who most recently organized an exhibition/program on Afrofuturism and the Black Comic Book Festival, both at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.
  • Damian Duffy, cartoonist, writer, and comics letterer, is a PhD student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and a founder of Eye Trauma Studios (eyetrauma.net). His first published graphic novel, The Hole: Consumer Culture, created with artist John Jennings, was released by Front 40 Press in 2008. Along with Jennings, Duffy has curated several comics art shows, including Other Heroes: African American Comic Book Creators, Characters and Archetypes and Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics, and published the art book Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art and Culture. He has also published scholarly essays in comics form on curation, new media, diversity, and critical pedagogy.
  • Octavia Estelle Butler (1947–2006), often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was born in Pasadena, California, on June 22, 1947. She received an Associate of Arts degree in 1968 from Pasadena City College, and also attended California State University in Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles. Butler was the first science-fiction writer to win a MacArthur Fellowship (“genius” grant). She won the PEN Lifetime Achievement Award and the Nebula and Hugo Awards, among others.

Path from ICA to East Boston

 

Jill Medvedow, Ellen Matilda Poss Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA), announced today that the museum has signed a letter of understanding to expand its artistic programming across Boston Harbor to the Boston Shipyard and Marina, located in East Boston. Pending permitting and final design, the new space is projected to open in summer 2018 and will be called the Watershed. The ICA will present artworks and public programs seasonally in the newly renovated 15,000 square-foot space while continuing year-round programming in its Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed facility in Boston’s Seaport District.  

“Our location on Boston Harbor places us in a unique position to activate the waterfront. With this project, the ICA will make a cross-harbor connection that is central to our notion of art, civic life, and urban vitality,” said Medvedow. “The Watershed represents an exciting and creative mode of growth for the museum. It takes art beyond our walls, building upon a decade-long history of public art projects that bring together landscape and contemporary art, as well as ongoing partnerships with East Boston youth communities.” 

The Watershed will be a raw, industrial space for art unlike any other in Boston. In addition to a flexible space for exhibitions, programming, and workshops, the Watershed will house an orientation gallery introducing visitors to the historic shipyard complemented by a waterside plaza that will serve as a gathering place with stunning harbor views. Admission to the Watershed will be free for all.

“Boston’s waterfront and harbor are one of the most unique aspects of our City, and I’m pleased the ICA is supporting our creative community in this welcoming East Boston space,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “The Watershed will offer Boston a new, engaging space for art and discovery, and I welcome their investment in Boston’s diverse artists, residents, and visitors.”

“We are thrilled to be working with the ICA on this ambitious and visionary endeavor that will connect the two neighborhoods we call home – East Boston and South Boston – through art and across the Harbor,” said Tom Glynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which owns the property. “The Watershed will connect communities with Boston’s dynamic working waterfront and shine a light on its vital role in our city’s history and future.”

At the Watershed, the ICA will welcome visitors to experience immersive artworks by artists engaged with the issues of our times. The new facility is a central component of ICA’s recently completed five-year strategic plan, A Radical Welcome, designed to advance the leading center for the vibrant intersection of contemporary art and civic life in Boston. For more on the ICA’s strategic plan, visit icaboston.org

Award-winning firm Anmahian Winton Architects (AW) has been engaged to execute the renovation of the facility. The design will embrace the history of the building’s original design and use. Transportation from the ICA to the Watershed will be available by boat from docks adjacent to the ICA, and on the MBTA Blue Line.

Including the renovation and programming over the next five years, the project is expected to cost approximately $10 million.

#ICAwatershed

The ICA is delighted to announce that the we are expanding our artistic programming across the Harbor to a temporary site in the East Boston Shipyard and Marina. We are honored to be a part of the East Boston landscape, a community that has long championed the arts, public parks, and the waterfront.

The new space, called the Watershed, is projected to open in summer 2018, pending permitting and final design. We will present art and public programs in the new 15,000-square-foot space seasonally while continuing our regular programming in the Seaport year-round.

The Watershed will be a raw, industrial space for art unlike any other in Boston, where visitors can experience immersive projects by artists engaged with the site, space, and issues related to this unique location. In addition to a flexible space for art and programs, the Watershed will house an introductory gallery focused on the historic shipyard and a waterside plaza that will serve as a gathering place. Admission will be free for all.

“Boston’s waterfront and harbor are one of the most unique aspects of our City, and I’m pleased the ICA is supporting our creative community in this welcoming East Boston space,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “The Watershed will offer Boston a new, engaging space for art and discovery, and I welcome their investment in Boston’s diverse artists, residents and visitors.” 

The Watershed represents an exciting and creative mode of growth for the museum. With this project, the ICA will make a cross-harbor connection that is central to our vision of art, civic life, and urban vitality. It takes art beyond our walls, building upon a decade-long history of public art projects that bring together landscape, history, and contemporary art. The new facility is a central component of the ICA’s recently completed five-year strategic plan, A Radical Welcome, designed to deepen the vibrant intersection of contemporary art and civic life in Boston.

We are thrilled to launch this exciting new journey and to create new opportunities for art and artists and to deepen the connection between the natural and cultural resources of Boston.   

Dear Friends,
 
As directors of Boston’s art museums, we serve as stewards of the public trust. So, we are alarmed at reports that the National Endowment for the Arts is under threat of being abolished, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Each of these entities champions art and culture in communities across America.
 
In Boston, NEA and NEH funding has been instrumental at each of our museums, supporting our extensive programs of public access, teaching and scholarship, conservation, collection and exhibition. NEA and NEH grants supported the digitization and cataloging of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s singular collection; acquisition funds for works of art by American artists of color in The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the forthcoming exhibition Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings at the Harvard Art Museums; the restoration of American artist Kenneth Noland’s only public art piece at MIT; and transformative art education programs for Boston public school middle and high school students at the ICA. 
 
Federal support has been a critical piece of the puzzle for museums in our shared mission to foster knowledge, create cultural exchange, generate jobs and tourism, educate our youth, ignite the imagination of our audiences and nurture the creativity of working artists. Across the country – in communities small and large, urban and rural – the NEA and NEH help to guarantee access to the arts and the preservation and presentation of diverse cultural expression. The prestige and visibility of the NEA and NEH connects our entire cultural community, though we are well aware of the outsized influence of federal dollars at our most vulnerable arts institutions across America.  
 
On Wednesday, our colleague Thomas Campbell of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote an op-ed in the New York Times eloquently outlining how every museum relies not only on financial support but also on the advocacy of the NEA to strengthen communities through the arts.
 
We share the belief that access to the arts is at the core of a democratic and equitable society. During this moment of heightened national discord, the elimination of the NEA and NEH is not a cut our country can afford.
 
Art is, at its best, a dialogue. We hope that you’ll participate in the conversation about the importance of federal funding for the arts and join us as stewards of the public good.

Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Paul Ha, Director, MIT List Visual Arts Center
Jill Medvedow, Ellen Matilda Poss Director, Institute of Contemporary Art
Martha Tedeschi, Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director, Harvard Art Museums
Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston