Institute of Contemporary Art — Attraction in Boston

IcA offers free membership for the littles 5-17 years + 1 accompanying them… this is worth it because paying for tickets at this place is not worth it. There is only one floor of gallery space. They do keep changing it up, so you won’t see the same thing if you go every few months. Right now they have some Caribbean art which was good, and some Asian artists…

We were there for a workshop on the ground floor, by Lily Xie. It was a stop motion workshop, but the time for the workshop was so less, by the time they taught us what’s needed to know, it was hurry hurry hurry to pack up because they had to set up for the next workshop (which was a drop in from 12-5 pm) we rushed thru our stop motion videos which wasn’t fun. They said we’d have enough time to make our videos or if we wanted we could take our materials home to make a better video…

They had a light puppet workshop after where you could make shadow puppets.

The view of the harbor from the galleries are nice. The galleries themselves could use some improvement. Some art pieces in the middle of the room have their write ups in random places, and it’s not easy to locate them especially if there is more than 1-3 artwork on the wall; with random art names, and no description for what we are looking at. I struggled with 2-3 of them before giving up. And the write ups themselves are very less, doesn’t give a glimpse into what the artist was thinking, why they did what they did, or what we are walking into (if it’s a room art) maybe they want us to do an audio tour, but it’s not clear when you enter where to get the info… a whole lot of employees but looks like they are all there to just protect the art but not really educate the patrons about what we are looking at. (They chided us for having an empty crushed water bottle when we asked them a question about some art) 🤷‍♀️ overall didn’t feel the vibe at this museum

It was nice to have lockers to stash our stuff at the entrance, felt light without our jackets and bags.

Your local library may have free or discounted passes to go here, I don’t think it’s worth it to buy a ticket for this…

The animation workshop was fun, but it was badly organized, if it wasn’t cheap ($5 a ticket) and the free admission for kids, I wouldn’t...

An Artful Afternoon on the Waterfront

Just left the Downeast Cider House, where the only "installations" were tanks of delicious, fermenting apples and the dominant aesthetic was "rustic industrial." The Queen feeling pleasantly buzzed and artistically underqualified, we travelled next door to the ICA.

And what a glorious contrast it was!

The first thing you notice is that the ICA is the building that looks like a chic, silver envelope slid halfway off a table by a minimalist giant. It’s a statement. And the statement is: "I contain art. And probably a very expensive gift shop."

The best statement of all? It’s free. That’s right. You can wander in off the street, still smelling faintly of apple, and immerse yourself in cutting-edge culture without spending a dime.

We caught the current exhibit, which was, of course, "artfully executed." (Because what else would it be? "Slapdash and vaguely threatening"? Not here!) It was the kind of art that makes you nod thoughtfully while making a "hmmm" noise, desperately hoping you're "getting it." Pro tip: Tilting your head and squinting works for both examining abstract sculpture.

It’s the perfect place to gaze out at the harbor, feel profoundly cultured.

So, if you find yourself on the waterfront with an hour to kill and a brain that’s either full of cider or just hungry for something stimulating, make a beeline for the ICA. It’s the perfect chaser to a day of drinks: a tall, cool glass of perspective....

Perhaps the worst art museum experience of my life. I made the mistake of making my visit to ICA the centerpiece of my morning on my first day in Boston. I came in to the museum with the ticket people ignoring me: No greeting, no info. I showed them my prepaid ticket and they said nothing besides “you’re good.” I had to ask about bag check and was directed toward self service lockers. Despite the impressive building and space there were only two spaces open on the 4th floor. From the outside this looks like a significant museum but it’s really just one floor. One show was an impressive collection of one artist (Simon Leigh) and the other was a hodgepodge of forgettable pieces. There was almost no 2-d work, paintings, nor prints on display and no connecting iconic collection pieces making this place feel special. Unfortunately, due to weather, the water taxi wasn’t running to their other space and it would have been a $15 Uber ride. I normally spend hours in art museums (recently spent 3 hours at Philly MA and 5 hours at MOMA, even 1.5 at the small Everson in Syracuse). I had seen everything here twice in my 30ish minute visit. A real bummer to say the least. The kind attendant recommended the Harvard Museum, MIT, or the MFA. I will not return and likely not recommend. The most interesting art is on the outside and...