Heciel Nieves Bonilla, News Editor
Current and former employees of the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU described a deteriorating work environment marked by ethics complaints, restrictions on expression, a fear of retaliation among staff and a high turnover rate.
The ICA has been involved in at least 32 formal ethics complaints since its opening in 2018, according to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by The CT.
Beyond the ethics complaints, some staff said work environment issues are longstanding and have been exacerbated under new leadership and a shift in direction since 2024.
Grievances include Title IX complaints
The CT viewed correspondence for three Title IX reports filed by separate ICA employees. They all described repeated harassment by the same administrator working for the institute.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The CT made the decision to omit the administrator’s name for legal reasons, as well as to protect the identities of victims.
The employees observed frequent sexual comments made by the administrator to or about femme-presenting coworkers and their bodies, including younger and undergraduate workers.
Complainants variably described the administrator’s “grooming” of young coworkers and in-house retaliation against employees of past romantic interest. Two complainants described the existence of a group chat with only male coworkers in which “lewd” comments and sexual jokes were shared.
According to at least two of the complainants, some of the administrator’s behaviors changed after submitting their Title IX reports. The complainants stated their reports “did not go far,” were dismissed or did not result in the requested actions by VCU. The administrator in question remains in their position.
Title IX is a federal law provision that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education settings, and encompasses sexual harassment, sexual violence, dress code discrimination and more, according to the United States Department of Education.
VCU’s Title IX policy can be found here. Reports can be filed to the Office of Equity and Access Services, which responds to complaints of misconduct.
VCU’s Integrity and Compliance Office tracks reports and investigations from across the university regarding programs, systems and staff.
The 32 ICA-related complaints include eight “substantiated complaints” and two “partially substantiated complaints,” according to record requests by The CT.
Annual reports show there have been 1,926 complaints across the university between fiscal years 2018 and 2025.
The number of complaints involving the ICA appears disproportionate to its staff size. The institute has roughly 40 employees, per a university-wide payroll published by The CT.
Across VCU as a whole, over half of substantiated concerns in fiscal year 2025 were about an employee who manages others. Over one-third of “substantiated concerns” involved a “chair,” “assistant dean,” “director” or other senior leader — which aligns with complaints ICA staff described to The CT.
‘Mental anguish,’ ‘intimidation,’ ‘lack of structure’
The ICA’s executive director is Jessica Bell Brown. She took on the role in October 2024 after serving in curator roles at New York City’s Gracie Mansion Conservancy and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Bell Brown’s tenure began shortly after the ICA was brought under the School of the Arts and its dean Carmenita Higginbotham, who said they would expand on an already-close relationship, according to VCU News.
Bell Brown and administration were named as a source of discord by several current and former ICA staff.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The CT made the decision to omit the names of certain staff from this story to protect them from potential retaliation by their employers.
The staff members described the managerial environment as increasingly domineering, noting employees getting fired or being pushed to quit if they were not in tune with the director’s vision for the institution. The gripes include limited opportunity for pushback during full team meetings run by Bell Brown.
Multiple staff members mentioned an order by Bell Brown to employees to remove posters from the office. One former staffer mentioned being told to remove certain items from personal desks, as well as judgment from administrators regarding clothing choices and piercings.
“Everyone is convinced there is a running ‘file’ on them waiting to be deployed for a PIP [Performance Improvement Plan],” the individual stated. “Staff have felt a pattern of psychological intimidation and depersonalization.”
Some current and former staff members criticized the direction of the institution itself as diminished in value as a result of workplace changes. They described less internationally-focused and fewer “contemporary” exhibitions in favor of student and VCU-focused ones, as well as burnout leading to a “just accept it and do it” attitude in the workplace.
Two sources independently remarked on the departure of Traci Garland, a founding ICA member, who they claim was unceremoniously “pushed out.” Garland did not respond to a request for comment.
Several current and former staff members noted high turnover as a longstanding element of the ICA.
Former part-time audiovisual technician and art handler Payton Baril, an ICA worker since 2018 who exited in 2024, claimed part-time workers and “even management and higher-level staff” have been treated as “disposable,” and that reality informed restructurings at the institute every couple of years.
“The lack of a structure that actually worked in favor for everyone, not just admin, caused and truly encouraged hostility and passive-aggressive behavior among staff and admin,” Baril stated. “This has remained the case throughout the many changes of directors.”
Baril noted “sub-surface hostility” as a reason for exiting, which included an environment in which discomfort among femme-presenting coworkers caused by some male coworkers was not taken seriously.
“I only left when it was made clear to me by the admin that I could never grow professionally in my multiple roles there,” Baril stated. “But I should have left once the amount of mental anguish working there started to affect my daily life and shaped how I viewed working in an art profession as a whole.”
Current and former employees tied large turnover for part-time, full-time and student staff to “toxicity” in the ICA’s work culture.
Since Bell Brown’s tenure began, multiple longtime or founding staff members have departed from the workplace. Those former staffers did not respond to requests for comment regarding their exits.
That was not the first time a significant portion of the ICA’s staff exited. In 2019, one year after the opening of its building at 601 W. Broad St, 20% of the institute’s full-time workforce were laid off.
Then-director Dominic Willsdon told ARTnews the job cuts were “driven by strategic considerations designed to foster the ICA’s growth.” Willsdon left the ICA himself in January 2024.
ICA committed to ‘raising expectations,’ Bell Brown says
Bell Brown stated to The CT she is “committed to building a stable, transparent and sustainable culture for the ICA.”
“Since joining the ICA a year ago, I took the first few months to focus on assessing our operations and culture, so that a larger strategic picture could guide decisions about our team composition and growth,” Bell Brown stated. “We’ve committed to our strategic growth by partnering with VCUarts and the Institute for Transformative Leadership to develop an actionable strategic plan to address the impacts of leadership changes and transition as a fairly new organization, and to put us on a path for a new future.”
Bell Brown stated the ICA’s “operations and culture” and “transition” have been her focus since she arrived. She pointed out her role comes after a “series of leadership transitions.” She also pledged a “space for discussion and feedback” at the ICA.
“We’re also committed to raising expectations and changing how we work,” Bell Brown stated. “While some team members have chosen to leave for other opportunities, this is part of transition. I’m listening, and making room to hear staff concerns in real time so we can address challenges directly and support a healthy workplace for the ICA as we go forward.”
Among the leadership transitions mentioned by Bell Brown is the exit of the ICA’s first director and primary visionary Lisa Freiman, who left before the building itself opened. Among other reasons, Freiman noted a desire to continue scholarly work and art at VCU instead.
“My passion, undoubtedly, remains focused on art, artists, curating and scholarship and these things ground my research, practice and teaching,” Freiman stated.
Freiman stated she is glad to have built the ICA, calling “flexibility and responsiveness” the beauty and true value of non-collecting contemporary art institutions. She stated she is not aware of complaints about its workplace.
“As for my vision for the ICA, some of it is still in place, some not,” Freiman stated. “That’s natural for institutions. They change over time depending on the people who lead them and other key factors that are very complex.”