Institute for Contemporary Art integrates with VCUarts

Sarah Hagen, Contributing Writer 

Vali Jamal, Contributing Writer 

The Institute for Contemporary Art, or ICA, will officially merge with VCU’s School of the Arts on July 1, 2024, according to a release by VCU News. 

“By moving the ICA at VCU into the School of the Arts, VCU students will benefit from expanded programming and educational opportunities,” the release stated. 

The ICA is a free admission arts center that focuses on modern art in all mediums and often utilizes difficult themes. It is designed to be a cultural and educational resource for VCU students and Richmond, according to their website. The building opened on April 21, 2018.

The ICA has always been a part of VCU but not part of VCUarts, according to Meredith Carrington, the ICA director of communications. 

Carrington stated that merging with the art school will make the ICA a more central part of the student experience.

“There are many ICA resources that students can take advantage of now, like free programming and new exhibitions,” Carrington stated in an email. “The ICA has also always had a robust student intern and employee program.” 

VCU art classes already use ICA spaces for visits, lectures and special events, and this will continue and “hopefully grow” after the merge, according to Carrington. 

Carrington said the ICA will continue to be a public space with no admission fee. 

The CoStar Group is supporting an $18 million “arts and innovation” building project next to the institute, according to a VCU news release. The groundbreaking is planned for this fall, and it is expected to open to the public in 2027. 

The building is expected to be 213,000 square feet on a one-acre space. It will house classroom space, performance venues and makerspaces. These resources will be available to VCU students and the Richmond community as a whole, according to the release. 

The CoStar building will also have a proscenium theater that seats 325 people, a concert hall that seats 325 to 500, and an innovation studio, according to Brian McNeill, the VCU director of public relations. 

Sheyenne Farrell, a junior fashion design student at VCUarts, said the merger will help give students experience and help them get a foot in the door to the industry. 

“I think it’s always great for students to get hands-on experience being in a gallery or museum that can enhance their ability to be more a part of the industry. So I think it will be helpful. Any way art can be incorporated, is always a benefit to everybody,” Farrell said. 

Nicole Killian is an associate professor in graphic design and is the director of the graphic design graduate program at VCUarts. They also think the ICA joining the Arts program will help VCUarts students gain more real world experience in the field. 

“There could be some positives in terms of more cross-programming with departments. But I’m also skeptical of the ICA having to be under the purview of the dean, because right now, that’s not how it works. So that feels like a little micro-managing,” Killian said. 

Killian stated in an email that while she supports a closer relationship between the ICA and VCUarts, she thinks there is value in the ICA being a separate institution and is unsure how the new arrangement will affect the hiring and vision of the ICA as an institution.

Many students and faculty say they don’t know what this expansion really means.

“It’s quite unclear what is going to happen in that building [CoStar building] besides the performing arts being in there,” Killian said.

Isabella Covello, a freshman fashion merchandising student, says she hasn’t heard much about the new building or the inclusion of the ICA into the arts program.

“I’ve only seen about one or two posts maybe on Instagram on stories but that was my first time hearing about it,” Covello said. 

Sheyenne Farrell agreed, saying that VCU could do a better job communicating these changes towards the student body. 

“Personally I don’t think there’s been a lot of up-to-date information with students. I think it would be great if we were kept more in loop about these things,” Farrell said. 

Kris McKeever is an interior design graduate student. He talked about how the ICA expansion would help add to the learning experience 

“I think it’ll give them [students] a fair sense of art outside of VCU,” McKeever said. “I think it’s always important to incorporate local art into studies. So I think that merging VCU with the ICA will probably just promote students to create more and also anchor VCU into Richmond. A lot more Richmond influence in the studies.” 

McKeever also added that he thinks it would help the arts program to have a newer building given that most of the buildings are fairly old. 

“In terms of the arts, there probably is a call for a new building. This building [Pollak] was built I think in the 80s,” McKeever said. 

He also added how VCU’s increasing enrollment makes a newer building and more space necessary for the arts program. 

“With how many students they let in, it’s in their best interest to have more space for art students,” McKeever said.

Khristian Settle is a VCUarts senior fashion design student. He thinks the expansion is needed. He says that his program lacks proper space. 

“I think we do need that [the expansion], especially for my program. We don’t really have the space, and we kinda feel cramped here. So spacewise, it’s really important, a good idea,” Settle said. 

Settle also talked about complaints by art students regarding space in the art buildings, especially Pollack. 

“There’s been lots of complaints, especially in the Pollack building. Again there’s a lot of us, there’s a lot of sharing of rooms,” Settle said. 

Editor’s Note: VCU Art’s Pollak building was built in 1971, not in the 80s.