The ICA, the gallery that turns into a night club at night, blurring the social boundaries between different disciplines in the arts. MSB

Institutions are structure or mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behaviour of a set of individuals. The ICA was founded with the intention “to establish a space where artists, writers and scientists could debate ideas outside of the traditional confines of the Royal Academy.” (quote from Wikipedia)

The ICA is a non-profit institution. It consists of two galleries, two cinemas, a theatre, a bookshop, a bar and café and private function rooms. The diversity of creative disciplines covered by their programme is contained within one building. This facilitates blurring of social boundaries between artists, film makers, musicians and actors and encourages chance interactions between different social groups, allowing possibilities for creative collaborations. Despite the myriad of programmes, it is the adaptability and changeability of the spaces that ensures casual physical social crossovers. The double height gallery space overlooked by the mezzanine bar/café is fairly informal making into a living room where a wide range of backgrounds come to relax and exchange views, ideas and opinions. The diversity of backgrounds is the result of the space’s informal function as a central core from which various programme venues radiate out. In the evenings, the ICA holds many club nights and the chairs and café tables are removed, turning the gallery/café space into a dance floor. Visuals are often projected against the wall of the double height space from the mezzanine bar area which is crammed with people. The intimate size and scale of the ICA institution, and the incredible informal club nights means that it is a lot easier to socialize with random people in comparison to events at the Tate such as Late night at Tate Britain.

Two years ago, I spent several days at the ICA doing a lighting study for an architecture course, hanging out in the “central core” of the ICA taking light meter readings and observing the fluctuation of widely ranging number of people in relation to the activities hosted throughout the day. I would take the measurements just before lunch time when it was least busy and had to be subtle. I suppose in some ways what I was doing could be likened to an art performance or intervention due its oddness and disruptions, attention I kept gathering. I contacted the ICA in advance and they gave me permission provided it wasn’t during busy hours. Unfortunately I pushed that too far with my ambition of taking measurements at the club night. I had the light meter strung up a stick so I could take light levels at different heights. The result was I got thrown out which was embarrassing. I divided the plan of the bar/cafe and double height space in square metres. At lunch time, the place would be filled with office workers and civil servants, and people simply visiting the space. I remember people constantly asking what I was doing and two men claiming to work from MTV enquiring about any new bands I knew. They gave me their e mail addresses and made me promise I would e mail about all the music gossip and in exchange get free tickets to gigs. I didn’t pursue that I line of contact as I felt they were a bit too keen to impress and were using that story for other personal gains.

In terms of funding and sponsorship, a quarter comes from the Arts Council England and the rest is fundraised by the ICA. Major sponsors are: Arts Council England, Westminster City Council, Guest Hotels, Spinvox, Veuve Clicquot. Recent fundraising events include “Art and Sole” in which The Chemical Brothers performed in Trafalgar Square. This isn’t their first off site project. In 2004, The Pet Shop Boys presented Battleship Potempkin live event which apparently drew in around 35 000 people. I think the idea of offsite events is incredibly interesting and is way of varying the structure and mechanism of social order of the ICA as an institution, moving away from the ‘building’ as its playground and temporarily extending into public spaces such as Trafalgar Square. Successful onsite fundraising events include celebrity “Pecha Kucha” gala, with dinner and auction as devises of raising money. The title is a Japenese term for chit chat and was invented by Klein Dytham, a British architecture firm in Tokyo with the aim to liven up tiring business presentations. Speakers, including celebrities such as Jonny Vegas and other figures well known in television, publishing etc chose a topic and were only allowed 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide set on automatic timer. Critical outspoken audiences are notorious in Pecha Kucha letting the speaker know if they are doing badly which adds to the thrill and excitement. What I like about their fundraising events is that despite the financial aims, it is achieved within the cultural agenda of the institution.

The governing structure of the ICA institution is known as the ICA council and meet every 2 months to review the progress of the institution. They set the mission statement and are responsible for the success of the institution by ensuring the necessary resources are in place to meet the objectives. The role of the ICA director is run by two people, managing director, Guy Perricone and artistic director, Ekow Eshun. From reading Guy Perricone’s blog (The Management Director), I have learned about the skilful balance the institution has to achieve in order to contend with the financial and commercial realities of the 21st century as well as maintain the “highly independent” and free spirited nature of the ICA. If they were to compromise on the ICA’s integrity their café/bar space would by now been turned into a sponsorship department store with well-known brands swallowing the identity of the ICA.
In relation to education, the ICA provides a dynamic programme that stimulates discussion and reflection. It also has online resources that give ideas and suggestions for teaching activities that relate to the current exhibitions and programme. The ICA is also part of the London Consortium, together with The Tate and the Architectural Association , allowing access to students on the PHD/ masters programme to test their intellectual arguments against the reality of work of the organisations and their daily cultural policy decisions. The ICA is also linked with “Pursuing Independent Pathways”, a London based charity for adults with severe disabilities and are currently recording podcasts of their weekly meetings lead by artist Emily Candela, about their experiences. I remember whilst doing my lighting study at the ICA two years ago, the place was rammed with school children in blue uniforms on an educational visit. Looking at the educational projects the ICA is involved in, it seems that they cater more for adults than children. Although the ICA’s regular talks and discussions, similarly to the Tate, could be seen as educational, it would also be interesting if the institution could provide music, film based and art workshops, even if they are only for adults, workshops which are more practice based rather than just conversations between one main speaker and an audience. MSB

“Key artists and art practitioners that have played a part in keeping the ICA at the forefront of vital contemporary action include T.S Eliot, Stravinsky, Elizabeth Lutyens, Jean Tinguley, Ronnie Scott, Jackson Pollock, Cartier-Bresson, Yves Klein, Jacques Derrida, Michael Foucault, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Nan Goldin, Peter Blake, Keith Haring, Cindy Sherman, Yoko Ono, John Maybury, Don Letts, Horace Ové, Wong Kar Wai, Lars von Trier, Takeshi Kitano, Abbas Kiarostami, Michael Winterbottom, Jeff Wall, Bill Viola, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McClaren, Ian McEwan, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Slavoj Zizek. The ICA has played host to debut solos shows from some of today's highest profile artists including Jake & Dinos Chapman, Marlene Dumas, Damien Hirst, Rem Koolhas and Steve McQueen. It was one of the first venues to stage The Clash in 1976, the Stone Roses in 1989 and more recently debut London gigs by Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Gogol Bordello and KT Tunstall. Legendary club nights, Blacktronica and Batmacumba were born at the ICA and more recently the much heralded grime and dubstep night, Dirty Canvas has taken up residence. Groundbreaking films such as In this World, Kandahar, Osama, and Turtles can Fly have all lent credence to the reputation of the ICA for being one of the first venues to screen significant social and political prescient and post-war films from the middle-east.” ICA




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