Description

First-time grantee, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA), will undertake a project to assess, digitize, and make publicly accessible the museum’s complete archive of its institutional history – holdings essential to the consideration and understanding of the broader history and impact of contemporary art in Southern California. A vital presence in LA’s arts and culture since its founding in 1988, ICA LA was pivotal to the early careers of many significant contemporary artists – including the LA based artists rafa esparza, Charles Gaines, Liza Lou, and Daniel Joseph Martinez – and the archives contain previously untapped materials documenting engagements and projects with them and many others. The publicly accessible digital platform, to be designed as a “living archive” to expand over time, will launch in 2028. This grant will support a full-time project archivist and costs associated with the initial phases of assessment, re-housing, and digitization.