ICA's new home to be unveiled next September
The much-anticipated new Institute of Contemporary Art will open on time next September, officials are set to announce today. The steel structure is rising on the edge of the Boston waterfront, a rare sign of life on the long-neglected stretch of real estate known as Fan Pier.
The building will cost $51 million, more than the $41 million projected by the ICA in 2003. Officials say that is because of design changes and the rising cost of construction materials. An additional $11 million is being raised for the ICA's endowment and programs.
''Boston can look forward to several days of celebration," said Jill Medvedow, the ICA's director. ''The waterfront is ready to take off."
ICA leaders hope the museum will transform an institution that's been considered no match for its counterparts in other major cities. The ICA's current space, on Boylston Street, has long been viewed as too small, with no room for a permanent collection.
From the outside, the new ICA, designed by the New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will be marked by a distinctive glass cantilever that stretches out toward Boston's harbor. Inside, it will feature a 325-seat theater and two-story educational center. The 65,000-square-foot museum will triple the ICA's current exhibition space.
Also today, the ICA will announce two programming collaborations. The Brooklyn-based STREB Extreme Action dance company will present a work titled ''Wild Blue Yonder" at the ICA's opening. Boston's CRASHarts, a division of World Music Inc., will also program 10 weeks of performances in the theater during the ICA's first eight months.
The performance space ''offers an opportunity to develop audiences for artists that are not as well known," said Maure Aronson, executive director of World Music and CRASHarts. ''The size of the space allows you to take a risk and introduce exciting works by artists that have not necessarily been in Boston."
Aronson said he wasn't ready to talk about the artists he's booking for the ICA space, with the exception of Butoh-influenced dancer Maureen Fleming, who will appear in April 2007 for four performances. CRASHarts presented Fleming in 2004 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, a space too large for her performance, Aronson said.
ICA officials had previously stated that the new building would open next fall. Though the project remains on schedule, Medvedow said it hasn't always been easy to keep that way.
''Art museums tend to be one-of-a-kind buildings" with one-of-a-kind problems, said Medvedow. ''It's not like building a hotel where you frequently have very, very similar floors that repeat."
Earlier this summer, ICA officials said they had raised more than $34 million toward the project and hoped for an additional $7.5 million to $8 million from the sale of the ICA's current home on Boylston Street. Boston developer Steve Samuels said yesterday he had made an offer on that building, and he has until the end of the week to decide whether to move forward with a deal. He declined to say how much he offered to pay for it.
Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com. 