The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London is swelling its ranks. The German artist Wolfgang Tillmans, the Russian collector Delya Allakhverdova and the Lebanese patron Maria Sukkar have been elected to the ICA council, the institution’s main governing body.
The trio join a ten-strong board, currently chaired by Donald A. Moore, the chair of Morgan Stanley Group Europe. Moore was elected last October, taking over from Alison Myners who stepped down after six years of service.
Other ICA departments are also growing. The graphic designer Stuart Bertolotti-Bailey, one half of the artist duo Dexter Sinister, is taking on the role of head of design, while Daryoush Haj-Najafi has been appointed head of communications. The new additions follow the appointments of Katharine Stout as deputy director in April and Richard Birkett as chief curator in May. Stefan Kalmár joined the ICA as director in January, succeeding Gregor Muir. German-born Kalmár came from Artists Space in New York.
Further building on transatlantic relations, the public institution is launching The American Friends of the ICA. The patronage programme is aimed at “collectors who are kindred spirits–those who have engaged with challenging and critical art practices in the US and Europe”, Stout says, noting that the ICA already “has a strong resonance in the US in terms of our programme”.
Its founding members are Ronnie Sassoon, wife of hair stylist Vidal Sassoon; the art adviser Eleanor Cayre; artist Liam Gillick; and the husband-and-wife collectors Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner.
Describing the changes as “the beginning of a new era for the ICA”, Stout credited Muir with laying the foundations during his six-year tenure. “Building on what Gregor achieved, the new appointments and additions will take the ICA forward to become a truly contemporary, radically progressive model,” she says.
[Source:- theartnewspaper]
