The ICA was founded by a collective of artists, poets, and their supporters, including Peter Gregory, E.L.T. Mesens, Roland Penrose, Herbert Read, and Peter Watson. Read described already back the ICA in 1947 as ‘a workshop’ and its programme as ‘daring’.
Often referred to as the birthplace of Pop art, the ICA supported very early on proto-Pop artists Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi, as well as staging first major British institutional exhibitions by Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, and Alison and Peter Smithson.
Over the subsequent decades, the ICA has staged numerous groundbreaking exhibitions, among those the first institutional exhibitions by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and many more.
They are once again invested in a radically progressive vision of the ICA – an ICA in which different modes of cultural production thrive on mutual engagement with each other, and a programme that speaks to the challenges of the 21st Century.
The ICA is located in the heart of central London between Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, and Piccadilly Circus.
Whilst visiting, feel free to pick up a hot or cold drink, refreshments, or light snack at the fully licensed bar to enjoy in the cafe, cinemas, and galleries.
