College students are taking over the ICA! Head to the Seaport for a night of creative art-making, unbeatable music, and stunning harbor views. Explore cutting-edge exhibitions—including the brand-new An Indigenous Present and the 2025 James and Audrey Foster Prize, celebrating Boston artists—and make the museum yours for the night.

Music lineup

State Street Corporation Lobby, First Floor

Your Biggest Hater | 6–6:45 PM
An ever-evolving experimental jazz project by trumpeter Lemuel Marc, Your Biggest Hater features Eazy Freeman-Fanfan on percussion, Jillian Upshaw on drum set, and Aidan Devine on bass.

Command+E | 6:45–7:10 PM
Command+E blends improvised sound and visual performance using sculpture, saxophone, broken electronics, sampling, and effects.

Teatea  | 7:10–7:35 PM
Boston area performer and producer Teatea fuses R&B, hip-hop, synthpop, and other eclectic styles into her music.

Pleasure Coffin | 7:35–7:45 PM
Multimedia performance artist/producer Pleasure Coffin’s sculptures of sound accompany her noise-pop music.

Lilith | 7:45–9 PM
Eclectic electronic musician Lilith performs with an array of gadgets ranging from the SP404, Monome, and DJ Decks, to create footwork-R&B melodies.

Event program

Art-making: Land Shapers | 6–8 PM  
Bank of America Art Lab, First Floor

Make art inspired by local artist Robert Peters’ Art Lab installation, Big Baby: A Story of Maushop. Be a land shaper like Maushop, a legendary giant from Wampanoag tradition who shaped and protected the land. Use clay and other sculptural materials to create your own meaningful place or bring something from your imagination to life. Free / Drop-in, first-come-first-served, and space is limited.

An Indigenous Present Gallery Discussions | 7:15 + 8:15 PM  
Bridgitt and Bruce Evans and Karen and Brian Conway Galleries, Fourth Floor

Deepen your understanding of the exhibition themes found in An Indigenous Present through a spotlight discussion of Teresa Baker’s Knife River. Each session is approximately 20 minutes long.

Win an ICA Labubu!
State Street Corporation Lobby, First Floor

Enter to win one of three Labubus complete with custom ICA gear! Sign up for the raffle when you check in. Winners will be notified via email following the event.

Levain Bakery Cookies
State Street Corporation Lobby, First Floor

Sample a fresh, delicious cookie bite from Levain Bakery, handmade with love and the best ingredients for ICA College Night. First-come-first-served while supplies last

University Members: Reserve your free ticket below!

Show valid student ID when checking in!

Berklee College of Music

Brown University 

Boston College: Art Department 

Boston University 

Brandeis: School of Creative Arts 

Bunker Hill Community College 

Emerson College 

Framingham State University: Arts & Ideas 

Harvard University 

Lesley University 

Massachusetts College of Art and Design  

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  

Montserrat College of Art  

Northeastern University & NU College of Arts, Media and Design  

Olin College of Engineering  

Roxbury Community College  

School of the Museum of Fine Arts  

Suffolk University Art & Design and First Year Seminar 

UMass Boston: Art Department  

UMass Dartmouth: College of Visual and Performing Arts & Honors College 

UMass Lowell: Art and Design Department  

Urban College of Boston  

Taíno AfroBorikua award-winning choreographer, interdisciplinary movement artist, and artistic director of Danza Orgánica, Mar Parrilla will respond to Caroline Monnet: Man-made Land through expressive dance and movement. 

Join Parrilla after the performance for a Q+A. 

About Caroline Monnet: Man-made Land

Caroline Monnet’s site-responsive installation for the Sandra and Gerald Fineberg Art Wall accompanies An Indigenous Present, a thematic exhibition spanning 100 years of contemporary Indigenous art. Responding to the ICA’s location at the edge of the harbor, Monnet’s installation is plotted with “blooms” that expand fractal-like, symbolizing Boston’s 400-year history of land reclamation. Intricately layered materials cohere into geometric circles and lines that Monnet abstracts from Anishinaabeg designs found on regalia, birch bark baskets, and beadwork. Man-made Land is a meditation, as she explains, “on the interconnectedness of all living things…a way to transmit cultural knowledge and values across generations, reinforcing a sense of community and belonging.” 

About Mar Parrilla

Mar Parrilla is a Taíno AfroBorikua and award-winning choreographer, educator, and community organizer. She is the founding Artistic Director of Danza Orgánica, a Boston-based dance theater company rooted in liberation, antiracism, antipatriarchy, and decolonial practices. A proud mother and interdisciplinary artist, Mar founded the Dance for Social Justice™ program and the annual We Create! Festival. Her work has been recognized by the BARR Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Boston Foundation, among others. Mar is also a Luminary Artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and has led multi–year collaborations with the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe and Puerto Rico-based artists through Proyecto Melaza. She has taught since 1998 in K–12 and higher education, integrating decolonial approaches into her pedagogy. Fluent in five languages, she is currently learning her Taíno Arawak language and proudly honors her lineage of artists, healers, and visionaries. 

Enter a world drained of color but brimming with drama. Dress to distress in inky black or ghostly white for an evening of undead DJ Big Bear, surprise performances from Boston Circus Guild, and spooky specialty food and drinks—all set within a striking black-and-white environment created by local artist Jaina Cipriano. Plus, get a custom patch by artist Andy Li—and find your patch’s match to win a prize.

Please note: This is a 21+ event. IDs will be checked at the door, guests who do not have a valid ID will not be permitted into the event. The ICA galleries and the ICA Store will be closed during this event. Bars and doors close at 11:30 PM.   

A note on costumes:  
The ICA’s Halloween events offer an inclusive and safe celebration for all. Costumes that perpetuate cultural appropriation, discrimination, or violence of any kind, including fake weapons, are not permitted.  

For the safety and enjoyment of all attending the event, the following items are not permitted:  

  • Oversized costume elements that obstruct movement  
  • Bubbles or smoke  
  • Elements that fully conceal the face  
  • Shirt and shoes required. We invite you to be inspired by art, artists, and your own imagination! 

About the Artists

Jaina Cipriano and Finding Bright Studios
For the Black + White Ball, artist Jaina Cipriano and Finding Bright Studios transform the ICA into a strange and magical garden frozen in time. Finding Bright Studios collaborates with cultural institutions, artists, and brands to create immersive environments where art, psychology, and design converge. Their goals are to make Boston weirder, provide audiences with moments of transformation, and uplift local artists. This Halloween, Andy Li collaborated with Finding Bright Studios to design a stunning call-to-action banner that extends above the dance party. His artwork at the Black + White Ball serves as a reminder to find beauty in the growing pains we experience while defining ourselves in an ever-changing world.

About DJ Big Bear
Brian “Big Bear” Karanja is a Boston-based DJ, event producer, and filmmaker from Nairobi, Kenya. His first love, hip-hop, helped him develop his skills on the turntables. Now that his love for music has expanded into various genres, Big Bear’s sound has grown into what can be described as an international vibe that captivates audiences everywhere.

About Boston Circus Guild
The Boston Circus Guild is a collaborative, membership-based organization of talented circus performers, musicians, fire artists, dancers, and event producers from the New England area.

Menu

  • Specialty cocktail: Nightshade
  • Charcuterie cups
  • Hot pretzels
  • Assorted halloween themed doughnuts
  • Dark and white chocolate pretzel rods
  • Parmesan popcorn

ICA Watershed  
256 Marginal Street  
Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina 
Boston MA 02128 

Co-Chairs 

Mary Schneider Enriquez 
Emmett G. Price III

Honorary Co-Chair 

Derrick Adams 

We’re shaking things up—join us on the dance floor for drinks, generous eats, live performance by Elisapie and beats by DJ Jazzy Jeff.

Elisapie

Elisapie’s unconditional attachment to her territory and her language, Inuktitut, remains at the
core of her creative journey. Born and raised in Salluit, a small village in Nunavik which is only
accessible by plane, Elisapie is an emblematic Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter. Since winning
her first Juno Award in 2005 with her band Taima, Elisapie’s body of work has been praised
many times.

On September 15th 2023, Elisapie unveiled Inuktitut, her fourth solo record. On this album, the
Inuk artist covers ten classic rock and pop songs ranging from the 1960’s to the 90’s translated
into Inuktitut, her mother tongue. The result is an emotional, autobiographical soundtrack where
each song is associated with a loved one or an intimate story. Acclaimed by audiences and
critics alike, Inuktitut is the artist’s second album to land a shortlist nomination for the Polaris
Music Prize. Its success also earned Elisapie a Juno Award in the Contemporary Indigenous
Artist of the Year category, as well as five awards at the 2024 ADISQ Gala, and allowed her to
play over 70 concerts in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. She also just got nominated for this
year’s upcoming Juno Awards for Best Album of the year, as well as for Best Adult Alternative
Album of the year.

Aside from her musical career, Elisapie is known for creating and producing documentaries and
the first Canada-wide broadcast TV show to celebrate the National Indigenous Peoples’ Day,
called Le Grand Solstice. She was also honored with a Canada Post stamp.

Always surrounded by the best musicians from the Montreal indie and folk scenes, Elisapie
makes her culture resonate with finesse by mixing modernity and tradition.

A person with long dark hair and freckles wears a dramatic, metallic, spike-embellished outfit.

Jazzy Jeff

DJ Jazzy Jeff is a renowned DJ, music producer, and entrepreneur with a thriving career that spans more than three decades. Jeff’s rich legacy in music includes a DMC Championship, an EMMY Award, multiple GRAMMY Awards, American Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and multiple nominations. Introduced to the world as one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, his accomplishments extend beyond his multi-platinum, Grammy-winning collaborations with Will Smith. Notable is his acclaimed production company, A Touch of Jazz, credited for work with Michael Jackson, Jill Scott, Darius Rucker, and more. In 2015, he founded the PLAYLIST Retreat, an invitation-only event that brings artists together to inspire, motivate, and fuel collaboration.

Prior to 2020, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed all over the globe and chronicled his travels in his Vinyl Destination web series. And when a global pandemic forced the world into lockdown, Jeff moved the party, literally, in-house with his signature livestream series, The Magnificent House Party.

A man wearing sunglasses, a black-and-white plaid shirt over a black t-shirt, black pants, and a black baseball cap with a white P logo stands against a gray background, dressed as if ready for the ICA Gala 2025, with his hands slightly raised.

Sponsorship Levels

Premier $100,000
Tickets for 20 with reserved seating

Presenting $50,000
Tickets for 12 with reserved seating

Lead $30,000
Tickets for 10 with reserved seating

Event $15,000
Tickets for 6 with reserved seating

Single Ticket $2,500
Open seating

Recognition at the event will correspond with sponsorship level. Please contact the Development Office at 617-478-3147 or development@icaboston.org with any questions.

Thank You

Premier

Katie and Paul Buttenwieser

Presenting

Karen Swett Conway and Brian Conway
Bridgitt and Bruce Evans
Elizabeth L. Johnson
Charlotte and Herbert S. Wagner III
Anonymous

Lead

Kate and Ajay Agarwal
Katrine Bosley
Fotene Demoulas and Tom Coté
Barbara and Amos Hostetter
Marina Kalb and David Feinberg
Dylan Leavitt
Elizabeth Clark Libert and Daniel Sterner
Tristin and Martin Mannion
Christine and John Maraganore
Erica Gervais Pappendick and Ted Pappendick
David and Leslie Puth
Leslie Riedel and Scott Friend
Mark and Marie Schwartz
Nicole Zatlyn and Jason Weiner

Event

Amy and David Abrams
Eunhak Bae and Robert Kwak
Adelle Chang and Eddie Yoon
Citi Private Bank
Converse
Steve Corkin and Dan Maddalena
Mary Schneider Enriquez and Juan Enriquez Cabot
Audrey and James Foster
Abigail Ross Goodman and David Norr
Mark Goodman
Jodi and Hal Hess
Natalie and Jake Lemle
Kent and Kristen Lucken
Alexander and Megan Marconi of The Catered Affair
Christine and Patrick O’Donnell
Ropes & Gray
Holly Safford and Charles Weilbrenner of The Catered Affair

Citi Bank Logo
Converse logo
The image shows the Ropes & Gray logo with the words ROPES and GRAY in bold blue letters and the ampersand & in gray between them on a white background, featured as a sponsor for the ICA Gala 2025.

Event Production and Planning Partner

Stylized black text logo reads ae events, with large, overlapping lowercase “a” and “e” above the word “events”—an elegant choice for occasions like the ICA Gala 2025.

Luxury Event Rentals, Styling, and Custom Fabrication Services

A logo featuring two overlapping gold triangles above the word FORM in elegant, dark gray capital letters, set against a white background.

Lighting Design and Video

Frost Productions logo

Caterer

The Catered Affair logo

In partnership with the Boston Ujima Project, enjoy a day packed with excitement, including a zine fair, food vendors, short films, DJ sets by DJ Rayvino and Mez.Wav, and special musical performances by Kei and Miranda Rae. Plus enjoy free admission all day!

The ICA is offering free museum admission all day on June 19, in honor of Juneteenth. Free advanced tickets are required and will be available to reserve beginning on Wed, June 18 at 10 AM.

Admission to Chiharu Shiota: Home Less Home at the Watershed in East Boston is always FREE—tickets are not required for entrance. Water Shuttle tickets have sold out for Juneteenth.

Schedule

Films | 12–4 PM

Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, Second Floor

Faith Couch: Keep Looking
Kima Hibbert: Africans With Mainframes
Kearra Amaya Gopee: Ca(R)Milla
Rodney Passé: Where Are The African Gods
Rodney Passé: Salutation – Center Of Attention
Rai Terry: Entering the Beyond
Cameron Teleau & Stephen Lafume: Thrill Tapes #1: Mindset
Kearra Amaya Gopee: an excision spell

Healing | 1–5 PM

Outside

1–3 PM | (Re)Centering Joy by Chanelle John
3–5 PM | Herbalism Practice by Taina Vargas

Workshops | 1–5 PM

State Street Corporation Lobby, First Floor

1–3 PM | Zine-Making led by Gabriel Johnson and Niara Hightower
3–5 PM | Screenprinting led by Midas.BKS

Market | 1–8 PM

Outside

Clothes By Tomo
Earth To Arifa
Emerald City Plant Shop
Saraphym’s Blessings
Sankofa Anacaona Botanicals
The Darkest Healing
The Jewelry Bar

Zine Fair | 1–8 PM

Outside

Bithiah Holton
Guerrilla Magazine
Gabriel Johnson
Pomegranate Art Collective
Hook Press
Ujima Press
Uzu Studio

Music | 5–9 PM

Outside

5 PM | Kei
5:30 PM | Dj Rayvino
7 PM | Miranda Rae
7:30 PM | Mez.Wav

About the Ujima Project

Boston Ujima Project is a democratic, member-run organization building a cooperative business, arts and investment ecosystem. Ujima’s mission is to return wealth to working-class communities of color.

You are invited to the inaugural Spring Art Celebration for +1 youth members and their guests! Enjoy an evening of music, fun, and engaging art experiences for all in celebration of the opening of two new exhibitions: Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon and Christian Marclay: Doors.

Dance to music by A Trike Called Funk, make a pencil pouch inspired by Stanley Whitney’s colorful paintings, and get your own  +1 logo cap with art by a graffiti artist—customized just for you! All activities are designed and presented by artists and educators in this fun evening celebrating art and your own creativity.  

This is a special opportunity for +1 members (youth 18 and under) and their families to enjoy a unique art experience. Each +1 member may invite one adult guest for free! Don’t miss out – RSVP today!

For questions, please email plus1@icaboston.org.

Music and Dancing

Groove with A Trike Called Funk, a pop party on three wheels! This participatory dance and music event is led by emcee and dance educator Stan “eSKapade” Karachev.

Get Creative

Express your signature style! Event participants receive a +1 logo baseball cap* that you can have customized just for you by a Boston graffiti artist Joel “Aware” Zayas from the famous “Graf Nuts”/GN crew! .
*While supplies last

Plus, make your own artwork inspired by the Stanley Whitney exhibition in the Bank of America Art Lab. Create a colorful keepsake pencil pouch using bold colors, abstraction, and musical inspiration found in Whitney’s artwork. Participation is drop-in on a first-come, first-served basis. Last entry 15 minutes before closing.

Gallery Talks + Activities | 4:30, 5:30, 6:00 + 6:30 PM

4:30 + 6:00 PM
Learn more about Stanley Whitney’s art via a guided sketching activity and pop-up talk in the galleries.

5:30 + 6:30 PM
Explore different styles of portraiture in our collection, and be inspired to create your own portrait during this interactive gallery activity.

Each session is 30 minutes long and is led by a youth educator.

Food and Refreshments

The ICA Wine + Coffee Bar will be open until 8:30 PM with a selection of soft drinks and light bites.

Plus, get a neighborhood discount at Greco! Show your ICA entry sticker at Greco on April 25 to save 10% off your purchase.

Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.

The exhibition is curated by Cathleen Chaffee, Charles Balbach Chief Curator, Buffalo AKG Art Museum. The ICA/Boston’s presentation is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with Tessa Bachi Haas, Assistant Curator.

With warmest thanks, we gratefully acknowledge the generosity of Gagosian and the ICA’s Avant Guardian Society in making the ICA’s presentation of this exhibition possible.

Gagosian logo

Christian Marclay: Doors is organized by Tessa Bachi Haas, Assistant Curator.

Free for +1 members. Portrait time slots are first come, first served.  

+1 members and their families are invited to take family portraits at the ICA! Whether you need a portrait for a holiday greeting card or just want a memento to add to your photo album, +1 Family Portrait Day is the perfect opportunity. 

Participants can register in-person at the event and will be assigned a 15-minute time slot for their portrait session on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be two sessions of portrait photography, 2–4:30 PM and 5–7 PM. The queue for event registration will open 30 minutes prior to each session: at 1:30 PM for session one and 4:30 PM for session two.  At least one person in your photo group must be a +1 member to participate in this event.  

Images will be distributed approximately two weeks after the event via email. 

Learn more about FREE +1 membership 

Celebrate Jellycat’s Jingle Jingle collection launch featuring all-new 2024 holiday releases. Receive a free Jellycat snowman ornament with any purchase of $100 or more. Plus enter to win an exclusive giveaway and more fun surprises! Be there, or be jelly!

Join friends and supporters of the ICA to celebrate the opening of An Indigenous Present, the 2025 James and Audrey Foster Prize, Portia Zvavahera: Hidden Battles / Hondo dzakavanzika, and Caroline Monnet: Man-made Land.

Enjoy a special look at the exhibitions and complimentary refreshments at this exciting evening event! RSVP to events@icaboston.org. Not a member? Join now to attend the opening.

An Indigenous Present is organized by Jeffrey Gibson and Jenelle Porter, guest curators, with Erika Umali, Curator of Collections, and Max Gruber, Curatorial Assistant.

This exhibition is supported in part by Mathieu O. Gaulin, the Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Foundation, Peggy J. Koenig, Kim Sinatra, the Fotene Demoulas Fund for Curatorial Research and Publications, and an anonymous donor.

With warmest thanks, we gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the ICA’s Avant Guardian Society in making this exhibition possible.

The 2025 James and Audrey Foster Prize is organized by Tessa Bachi Haas, Assistant Curator.

This exhibition and prize are generously endowed by James and Audrey Foster.

Portia Zvavahera: Hidden Battles / Hondo dzakavanzika is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with Meghan Clare Considine, Curatorial Assistant.

Man-made Land is organized by Jeffrey Gibson and Jenelle Porter, guest curators, with Erika Umali, Curator of Collections, and Max Gruber, Curatorial Assistant.

Support for Man-made Land is generously provided by Jean-François and Nathalie Ducrest.

Man-made Land was also developed with the support of the B Street Collective and the Conseil des arts Montréal.

Flashback to Flash Dance, Purple Rain, Ghostbusters, and the iconic art and culture of the 1980s! This thriller of a Halloween event features DJs spinning disco beats and the best of the ’80s, breakdancing and other pop-up performances, an artist-created photo moment, and much more. Find a totally awesome ’80s outfit, dance with somebody, and have the time of your life! 

Please note: This is a 21+ event. IDs will be checked at the door, guests who do not have a valid ID will not be permitted into the event. The ICA galleries and the ICA Store will be closed during this event. Bars and doors close at 11:30 PM. 

Program

Artist Takeover by Jaina Cipriano
First and Second Floors
Jaina Cipriano (Finding Bright Productions) brings her artistic vision to the event, transporting you the neon-hued ’80s on the first floor and a shiny, silver disco club on the second floor. And there’s an extra surprise—follow a glowing bridge into a magical, immersive installation!

DJ Trip Report and Cakewalk of Keep On
State Street Corporation Lobby, First Floor
Dance to the greatest hits of the decade in a neon ’80s dreamscape.

DJ Kon 
Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, Second Floor
Groove to disco beats in a glittery skeleton club.

Pop-up Performances by The Floor Lords
First and Second Floors
Catch pop-up breaking and hip-hop from these legendary crews on the dance floor.

Sips + Snacks | 8–11:30 PM
Bars on First and Second Floor; Food on First Floor
Specialty cocktail: Tequila Sunrise

A note on costumes: 
The ICA’s Halloween events offer an inclusive and safe celebration for all. Costumes that perpetuate cultural appropriation, discrimination, or violence of any kind, including fake weapons, are not permitted. 

For the safety and enjoyment of all attending the event, the following items are not permitted: 

  • Oversized costume elements that obstruct movement 
  • Bubbles or smoke 
  • Elements that fully conceal the face 

Shirt and shoes required. We invite you to be inspired by art, artists, and your own imagination!