The ICA is one of West Philly’s swankiest museums – both the building itself and the art within scream modern, sleek, and cutting-edge. In addition to its exhibitions, the museum regularly hosts talks and lectures, produces publications, and puts on contemporary art related events. The rotating exhibitions in its galleries are its highlights, though, and here’s an added bonus that’ll surprise anyone who hasn’t been there in a while: admission is free for all visitors! That’s right, free public admission is being sponsored for five years (one down, four to go), making it super tempting to stop in and check out what’s new next time you find yourself loitering around 36th and Sansom. But with the great exhibits they currently have running, you might want to set aside a couple of hours.

The cavernous first floor is taken over by “Dance With Camera,” which explores the intersection between artists and dancers performing for the camera rather than the stage. Many of the images and videos have a close-up, gritty quality that you never see in a polished live performance piece, lending them a visceral and very human quality. There are excerpts from iconic dance films played by old school projectors juxtaposed with brand new work. I can’t do the exhibit justice in words – the movement, physicality, and sometimes disturbing actions of the dancers’ bodies have to be seen to be appreciated.

Moving upstairs (by means of a ramp that’s awash in geometric slices of color), the next exhibit you’ll come across is “Tim Rollins and K.O.S.: a History.” Rollins is an artist and educator who has been working with students from a Bronx middle school for over 25 years – he dubs the participants in his program, which turns at-risk youth into artists, “Kids of Survival.” His mission in the program is to blend literature with art, and the works on display do a phenomenal job of it. Most involve large canvases covered in pages from an iconic book which are overlaid with the collaborative student art that the book inspired. These works are beautiful, clever, surprising, and emotionally touching. They range from the fantasia of colorful inkblots covering the text of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to bold “Scarlet Letter” emblems, to an almost pure white “Invisible Man.”

Other exhibits include “Asking Not Telling,” a video that is part one of a three-part year-long exhibition that offers a snapshot of current video art (come back for the next two parts to get the full picture!) and the colorful abstract wall paintings that guide gallery goers from the first floor to the second. If you haven’t been to the ICA recently, now’s the perfect time to check out the fall exhibits.

Institute of Contemporary Art
University of Pennsylvania
118 S. 36th St. Philadelphia, PA 19104-3289
Tel. 215-898-7108 | Fax. 215-898-5050
www.icaphila.org