Jill Medvedow to Leave ICA Boston

Jill Medvedow, who for twenty-five years has served as the director of the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, will depart the role in December 2024. Medvedow’s tenure at Boston’s ICA was transformative: She remade the museum from a local kunsthalle into an internationally recognized contemporary arts institution; oversaw its move from a refurbished police station to its iconic Diller Scofidio + Renfro–designed home, raising more than $200 million to do so; grew its annual attendance more than a thousandfold; established a nationally distinguished program for teens; and rooted the institution firmly in civic life. “Jill transformed the ICA into an anchor institution in Boston, and one of the leading centers for artistic experimentation and contemporary culture in the country,” said Steven D. Corkin and Charlotte Wagner, respectively co-chair and president of ICA Boston’s board, in a statement. “Working with staff, artists, teachers, students, and community partners, she has integrated new art and ideas into the heart of our communities, bridged the connection between contemporary art and civic life, and in doing so, forever changed the landscape for contemporary art and culture in the city of Boston.

We are profoundly grateful to Jill for her inspired leadership, her commitment and dedication, and her unwavering mission to expand access to art for all.” Among her other accomplishments while at the institution, Medvedow elevated the work of women and female-identifying artists, who, thanks in part to her acquisition of the Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women, now account for 60 percent of the museum’s collection. Medvedow additionally championed artists of color, who account for 38 percent of ICA’s collection. Recognizing the importance of making artist’s voices heard in regard to institutional programming, she inaugurated the museum’s Artist Advisory Council. Medvedow has not revealed the reason for her departure, or her future plans. “I love the ICA,” she said in a brief statement. “I love its people and programs, and I am excited for all of us as we move forward.”.