The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston on Wednesday announced the appointment of Nora Burnett Adams as the museum’s next director. Her tenure is set to begin on May 1.
Abrams comes from Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art, where she has worked as the director since 2019. Acclaimed exhibitions during her time at the MCA include “Basquiat before Basqiat” and solo shows featuring artists like Paul Sietsema and Tatiana Blass.
Kelly Gifford, the ICA’s deputy director, said one Abrams-curated show to catch her eye was a critical look at the mythologies of America’s Western Frontier.
“I thought was a really intriguing way to kind of raise up those contemporary artists that are doing that work, and also [to] invite visitors in who may not have ever thought they enjoyed contemporary art,” she said.
That show, Gifford felt, was emblematic of the qualities Abrams will bring to the Boston instutiton: a marriage of accessibility and “whimsy.”
With this appointment, Abrams joins the surge of new leadership throughout local institutions including Harvard Art Museums, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and, soon, the Museum of Fine Arts.
The announcement has been highly anticipated.
It’s been more than a year since the museum announced that Jill Medvedow, the outgoing director, would be stepping down from the role.
Medvedow has served the ICA for 26 years, during which time she oversaw the expansion of the museum’s collections as well as its physical presence. Under her leadership, the ICA moved to its current location in Seaport. Her last day will be March 31.
