“Ultimately the ICA is not so much a place as a principle. A belief in the new. An enduring faith in the creativity of tomorrow.”
Ekow Eshun, artistic director
VIBRANT
INNOVATIVE
DYNAMIC
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is the most vibrant arts club in the world. A unique member’s club for cultural leaders to present their work to the public and each other. Founded in 1947 on a wave of post-war optimism, the ICA was established by artists, for artists, to exchange and explore new ideas. It is the original multi-disciplinary arts centre now imitated worldwide. Through creating a networking hub, the ICA brings together the best new art and culture from Britain and around the world.
Since 1968 the ICA has occupied one of John Nash’s great masterpieces commissioned by the Prince regent and built in 1827 on the Mall. This most elegant of listed buildings houses a theatre, two galleries, two cinemas, a bookshop, a bar and café and two beautifully appointed function rooms with balcony views over St James Park and Whitehall.
