ICA welcomes new executive director

Ellie Waltman, Contributing Writer

The Institute for Contemporary Art officially welcomed Jessica Bell Brown as its new executive director on Nov. 13. Brown held a press event at the ICA on Nov. 15 to discuss her goals for the institute.

Brown will work towards advancing the ICA’s overall mission by engaging an international network of contemporary artists and organizations while pushing focus on cross-disciplinary studies, according to a press release.

She was the former curator and head of contemporary art at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where she began as an associate curator in 2019 and became head of contemporary art in 2022, according to the press release.

Brown played a pivotal role in shaping the Baltimore Museum of Art’s contemporary program, and is also the recipient of the 2020 Andy Warhol Foundation Curatorial Research Fellowship, according to the press release.

She is eager to begin her role as the new director, Brown said at the event.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join such an illustrious community — all of the thinkers, artists, supporters of all the creativity that is teaming from the seams in Richmond and at VCU,” Brown said.

Carmenita Higginbotham, the dean of VCUarts, said at the event that Brown is precisely what the ICA sought out when searching for their new executive director.

“Our community looks to the ICA for meaning and connection to the arts,” Higginbotham said. “When the search committee set out to select the new executive director, they sought an individual who could lead the institution in groundbreaking commissions and someone who could open up connections in groundbreaking art. I am pleased to say that we found that in Jessica Bell Brown.”

Chase Westfall, the interim executive director at the ICA, said Brown is a perfect fit for the ICA’s mission moving forward.

“We’ve had a few meetings, and they’ve all been really wonderful. I think she’s phenomenal. She’s just what the ICA would’ve hoped for when they started this search,” Westfall said. “She brings all the required aptitudes and competencies and a tremendous amount of grace and generosity.”

The role of the executive director comes with many responsibilities, including focusing on moving forward with the ICA’s overall mission but also giving back to the community and providing a space for artistic expression to thrive, according to Westfall.

Connor Samuels, a fourth-year communication arts student who works for the ICA, said he’s looking forward to the organization’s plans going forward.

The ICA has started to host more events, focusing on expanding its outreach to the community. They’ve also focused on pushing funding towards current exhibitions to keep them in the ICA longer than normal, according to Samuels.

“I think there’s going to be more programs in the future,” Samuels said. “We’ve started doing more events, and they’re going to help build more community.”