ICA Miami Breaks Ground on its Permanent Home in Miami's Design District

The Institute for Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) announced today it will break ground on its new, permanent home in Miami's Design District on November 16, 2015. The museum additionally unveiled detailed plans for the new 37,500-square-foot building, designed by the Spanish firm Aranguren & Gallegos Arquitectos, in collaboration with the local architect of record, Wolfberg Alvarez. Featuring 20,000 square feet of exhibition galleries and a 15,000-square-foot sculpture garden, the new building enables the museum to create an enduring cultural and educational resource for audiences from throughout the region and beyond, and to further advance its mission of providing an international platform for the work of the most experimental artists practicing today.

Scheduled to open in mid-2017, the new museum will be integrated within the heart of the city's historic design district, on land generously donated by Miami Design District Associates. The design and construction of the new museum, along with the acquisition of land for the sculpture garden, has been funded entirely by a major capital gift from Irma and Norman Braman. A special groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 4 pm on the site of the museum's future home on NE 41st Street.

"The new ICA Miami has been designed as a dynamic and open forum for visitors of all ages to engage with the art of our time," said Irma Braman, Co-Chair of ICA Miami's Board of Trustees. "With this groundbreaking, we are one step closer to our goal of creating a new cultural landmark for the city that will stand as a symbol of Miami's growing and vibrant visual arts community, and serve as a vital public and educational resource for audiences throughout the region and beyond."

"The start of construction on the new building marks a significant milestone for the museum and for Miami, which has the most supportive and engaged cultural communities in the country," said ICA Miami's incoming Director Ellen Salpeter, who begins at the museum on December 1. "I am thrilled to be joining as we move forward into the next critical phase of institutional development, and to be working with ICA Miami's dedicated staff and visionary board, whose longstanding commitment to the arts in the region is unparalleled."

Aranguren & Gallegos Arquitectos's design for the new ICA Miami resonates and reflects the museum's commitment to the contemporary and to serving its community. The southern façade, which will serve as the main entrance to the new museum, features a geometric layer of interlocking metal triangles and lighted panels that will change colors. The northern façade, in contrast, features a curtain wall system of windows, which will bring natural light into the museum's galleries, and allow visitors to take in views of the sculpture garden and the Design District. With ground-level galleries that flow naturally into the sculpture garden, the new ICA Miami creates an integrated and transparent environment in which visitors can encounter and experience the museum's varied artistic programming.

The interior of the new museum will include a variety of multipurpose areas and adjustable gallery spaces that will be able to respond to the diversity of artist installations, exhibitions, and performances that ICA Miami presents, as well as increase space for educational and community programming. The galleries and alternative work areas, including several divisible halls and continuous exterior and interior paths, will feature elevated ceilings and support for state-of-the-art acoustic and lighting technologies. The ground floor galleries will be able to open onto the sculpture garden, allowing the sculpture garden to be incorporated into the museum.

"The design of the new building responds to the needs of an energetic, experimental art museum that requires spatial flexibility, and will empower us to continue to support the work of innovative contemporary artists, whose evolving practices require increasingly adaptable and creative spaces," said Alex Gartenfeld, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of ICA Miami. "We look forward to being able to provide Miami with a broader scope of exhibitions and programming that will increase the public's understanding and appreciation of contemporary art, and enliven the city's cultural landscape."

As plans for the new building move forward, ICA Miami continues to present cutting-edge contemporary programming in its temporary location in the landmark Moore building. A major solo exhibition of acclaimed video and performance artist Alex Bag and a comprehensive presentation of Shannon Ebner's photography will be on view during this year's Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2015. Both exhibitions speak to the rapidly advancing media culture of contemporary society, and reflect the museum's ongoing commitment to providing a platform for the work of the most innovative and experimental artists practicing today.