Virginia Commonwealth University Surpasses $20 Million Raised for New Institute for Contemporary Art

For media in Richmond:
Carrie Culpepper
VCUarts
804-338-5669
cnculpepper@vcu.edu

For media outside of Richmond:
Ilana Simon / Isabel Sinistore
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
720-746-9552 / 212-671-5175
isimon@resnicowschroeder.com / isinistore@resnicowschroeder.com

Virginia Commonwealth University announced today that it has surpassed the $20 million mark in support of the university’s new Institute for Contemporary Art, raising an additional $6 million towards its $32 million campaign goal since unveiling the building’s design in April 2012. Part exhibition and performance space, part lab and incubator, the ICA will feature a series of flexible programming spaces for the presentation of visual art, theater, music, dance and film by nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Major gifts in support of the ICA include:

• $5 million gift from Kathie and Steve Markel, co-chairs of the ICA’s Campaign Committee

• $5 million gift from Pam and Bill Royall, co-chairs of the ICA’s Campaign Committee

• $2 million gift from True Farr Luck, Richmond-based philanthropist and long-time donor to VCUarts.  Luck’s gift will be recognized with the naming of the ICA’s third-floor gallery. 

• $1 million gift from Abby W. Moore, philanthropist and former president of Moore Loans Inc. Moore’s gift will be recognized with the naming of the ICA’s café.

• $1 million gift from anonymous donors to name the ICA’s reflecting pool in honor of Martha D. Newell

• $1.8 million in-kind gift of the property on which the ICA will be located from a Richmond-based private foundation

• $750,000 matching grant for a total gift of $1.5 million from the Virginia-based Cabell Foundation

• $500,000 from the Lewis and Butler Foundation.  The gift will be recognized with the naming of the ICA shop for Frances, Andrew and Virginia Lewis.  Frances Lewis also serves as honorary Chairwoman of the ICA’s International Advisory Board.

• $500,000 gift from The Pollak Society, a group of VCUarts’ patrons in the Richmond community

The gifts noted above, along with additional gifts from individuals and corporations, bring the total raised to date to more than $20 million.  Currently anticipated to open in 2015, the ICA will be a non-collecting institution designed to facilitate the way artists are working today by accommodating the increasing lack of barriers among different media and practices, mirroring the cross-disciplinary approach at the VCU School of the Arts.

“Since unveiling the design for the ICA in April, our community has embraced the project wholeheartedly, as evidenced by the more than $6 million in contributions since that time,” noted Joseph H. Seipel, dean of the VCU School of the Arts. “The support of these individuals and foundations is invaluable as we work towards the creation of this new institution. We are so grateful for the support and thank them on behalf of the artists, students and larger community for whom the ICA will be a resource for generations to come.”

"Forking Time," an exhibition of water colors and study models for the ICA design, will be on display at the Virginia Center for Architecture opening September 13 at the Virginia Center for Architecture, 2501 Monument Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit http://esterknows.com/archives/steven-holl-forking-time-exhibition.

VCUarts is one of the nation’s leading arts schools, with distinguished alumni and noted artists at campuses in Richmond and Qatar, and has long been the top public university graduate arts and design program in the country according to U.S. News & World Report.  VCU is also home to the Anderson Gallery, which for 35 years has organized and presented exhibitions, programs and publications that explore a broad range of currents in contemporary art and design. The ICA will complement and enhance the offerings of VCU while also serving as a new destination for contemporary arts and culture in the region and a cornerstone of Richmond’s already vibrant arts community — joining the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Virginia Opera, Virginia Repertory Theatre, Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony. 

About VCU and VCUarts
Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 222 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. With a distinguished faculty of professional artists and 16 departments, including Craft/Material Studies, Fashion Design and Merchandising, Dance and Choreography, Graphic Design, Music, Painting and Printmaking, Photography and Film, Sculpture + Extended Media and Theatre, VCUarts has been the top-ranked public university visual arts and design graduate program in the country for nine years, according to U.S. News & World Report. Its campus in Qatar provides students and faculty with a direct tie to the Middle East, a region of increasing significance in the contemporary art world.

For more information on VCUarts, please visit: arts.vcu.edu
For more information on the ICA, please visit: ica.vcu.edu