ICA Delay - Kathy Halbreich's Take

Kathy Halbreich, the Walker Art Center director who knows a thing or two about splashy openings, tells us that she's not surprised to hear of the ICA's delay. In fact, she came up with a clever way to avoid a similar postponement. The Walker didn't announce an opening date until everyone ---from contractors to architects --- could guarantee completion of the project. That meant when Halbreich slid the opening, with eight months to spare, from February to April last year, nobody on the outside noticed.

We sent Halbriech our ICA story and asked if it sounded as if there truly were only minor construction issues to deal with.

Her reponse:

"This all makes sense to me-----as I said, we worked up to the last moment getting all the systems to work as well as installing all the art and we still had a lot of work to do after we opened (including finishing our office spaces which will be complete this fall). The ICA's problem is regrettable but understandable."