ICA piloted a very successful new series this year, Sunday Reset @ ICA, where audiences explored art and wellness through guided activities such as journaling as a meditative process, sound baths, book-making, collaging, herbal tea making, hypnotism, and acupuncture. Each monthly program took inspiration from one of the exhibitions on view and was led by a local practitioner who encouraged attendees to spend time in the galleries after their sessions.

Local duo Mind Maintenance and jazz percussionist Mikel Patrick Avery performing during a (deep) listening session inspired by Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses. Photo: Anthony Ali.

(deep) Listening Sessions returned to ICA in spring 2025 by popular demand after it debuted in spring 2024. Each session consisted of musical performances spotlighting local artists pioneering the realms of experimental music. One session with Philadelphia-based ambient music collective Spindrift focused on the tension between technology and precarious ecosystems, a theme in the exhibition Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses. Other sessions were led by bassist and composer Brandon Lopez and by duo Mind Maintenance and Philadelphia-based jazz percussionist Mikel Patrick Avery.

Sachs Guest Curator Josh T Franco.

In Fall 2024, ICA welcomed audiences to celebrate Where I Learned to Look: Art from the Yard and Joanna Piotrowska: unseeing eyes, restless bodies with programs that included a special performance of Scriptorium con safos: Yard by Sachs Guest Curator Josh T Franco, followed by a conversation with Franco, artist Jeff Koons, and Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Professor in the Department of the History of Art, University of Pennsylvania. [untitled] Film Series, inspired by Joanna Piotrowska’s exhibition, featured a screening of Eric Rohmer’s 1986 film, The Green Ray, followed by a discussion with Piotrowska that explored how the film relates to the artist's highly enigmatic and cinematic aesthetic.

Screen print art making activity during public event, The Art of Protection: Exploring Resilience and Beauty in Black Design. Photo: Brittany Clottey.

The Art of Protection: Exploring Resilience and Beauty in Black Design in October 2024 was a day-long program that celebrated the concepts of beauty, labor, and protection present in Nontsikelelo Mutiti’s Entryways installation. Audiences engaged with pop-up presentations from local Black artists and designers, hands-on workshops, and a curated marketplace of products.

The Public Engagement and Research (PE&R) department has also introduced several new didactic initiatives for lifelong learning, including the development of a resource library with books curated for all ages in response to current exhibitions. Additionally, they’ve created tactile keychains to enhance the experience for individuals with low visibility or for those wishing to engage with the textures of the art without physically touching it. PE&R has also invested in the professional development of our front-line workers, engaging them throughout the public programming process to ensure they are an integral part of the visitor experience.

The 2025 Student Week featured a cyanotype workshop with visual artist Yannick Lowery; a Careers in the Art and Creative Industries panel discussion; and the ICA Student Board’s yearly After Dark party – an event open to students from Penn and other Philadelphia colleges and universities.

After Dark party attendees. Photo: Sana'i Parker.

In 2025, ICASB continued producing Art UnPhiltered that consists of interviews with local Philly-based artists and art professionals along with an annual publication dedicated to showcasing the work of young creatives, both of which are fully accessible on ICA’s website.

ICA Student Board's field trip to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.

Throughout the 2024–2025 academic year, ICA hosted the Weitzman Lecture Series in collaboration with the Stuart Weitzman School of Design featuring nationally renowned artists including Jonathan Olivares, Nancy Valladares, Leslie Thornton, and BlackMass Publishing. ICA was also very active during New Student Orientation when we welcomed hundreds of first-generation students and their families for an ice cream social on our terrace.