The Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego is entering a period of significant change—one that asks us to reflect not only on how we operate, but on what a contemporary cultural institution can and should be for the community it serves. As a “living laboratory for presenting the transformational power of art”, we must embody creativity for ourselves as well as promote that with artists.

Like many nonprofit cultural organizations, ICA San Diego is navigating challenging financial realities. In response, we have made difficult decisions to reduce our staff by 42%, adjust our programming, and temporarily close ICA Central to the public.

These decisions have had a very real human impact. We are deeply grateful to the colleagues whose creativity, care, and commitment have shaped ICA, and we recognize the significance of their contributions to this institution and our community.

ICA Central is now temporarily closed to the public. As a result, Cat Gunn’s if only by the light of a new moon, originally scheduled to remain on view through September 13, has concluded earlier than planned. We are grateful to Cat for their work, their time as an artist-in-residence, and the exhibition they created with ICA San Diego. We are proud to have been able to provide a stipend, materials, studio space and their first individual exhibition at a museum.

ICA will also no longer present Aviva’s previously announced exhibition as part of the programming and budget changes taking place across the organization.

For us, renewal means taking stock of our present and envisioning a positive and sustainable future. It does not mean forgetting what came before or minimizing the difficulty of change. We will take an honest look at what we do, why we do it, how to adapt with intention, and ask what ICA needs to become in order to continue serving artists and our community for years to come.

And that work is already continuing.

ICA North remains open and will welcome a new exhibition of works by our class instructors this September. Select art classes, including ceramics, will continue. Our events, venue rentals, and membership programs remain active. Artists, students, members, partners, and visitors will continue to have ways to gather, learn, create, and participate at ICA.

ICA San Diego has long embraced the idea of the museum as a Living Laboratory—a place shaped by experimentation, adaptation, reflection, and exchange. A place for artists to push boundaries and expectations of what is “art.”

At this moment, that idea feels more essential than ever. ICA must also push itself to question the role of a museum and how that institution can transform to adapt and respond to the needs of our public, while also acting as a guide towards something new.

Being a Living Laboratory means being willing to ask difficult questions, reconsider how we use our spaces and resources, and remain responsive to the artists and communities we serve. It means recognizing that cultural institutions, like the art they champion, are not static.

This process will take time, and not every answer is determined today. We believe it is important to be transparent about that, too.

ICA Central is expected to return in the new year with a new approach to how the space and its programming are experienced. More details will be shared as those plans take shape.