ICA Boston Reaches $50 Million Fundraising Goal

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston has completed a $50 million fundraising campaign aimed at increasing its endowment, and providing more stability for the institution from year to year. The funds, according to the Boston Globe, will also be used to support its operating budget and pay down the debt incurred from the construction of its waterfront building on the Fan Pier.

When the museum opened its doors in 2006, it was the first new art museum to be built in Boston in nearly one hundred years and the first to be built in the US by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the renowned architects behind the controversial MoMA expansion. Today, the museum—which is currently showing a comprehensive survey of the work of Jim Hodges—has roughly 200,000 visitors per year and an annual budget of $13 million. The completion of the campaign, which board trustees announced on Wednesday, will increase the endowment to $25 million from just under $10 million.

The ICA received 21 gifts in the seven figures totaling $25 million from Ellen Poss, Barbara Lee, outgoing ICA chairman Paul Buttenwieser, Fotene Demoulas, and a donor who remained anonymous. The Barr Foundation made a significant gift as well. Three vital staff positions were endowed during the campaign: that of the museum director, chief curator, and senior curator.