Institute of Contemporary Art appoints interim director

The Institute of Contemporary Art will soon host more than just new art.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Provost appointed Robert Chaney as interim director of the ICA.

Chaney, ICA director of Curatorial Affairs, will replace former Director Claudia Gould, who left her post in September to become the director of the Jewish Museum in New York.

Provost Vince Price also appointed a consultative committee comprised of eight ICA staff and University faculty to search for a permanent replacement. Meanwhile, Chaney will begin his term on Oct. 18.

Leo Charney, a spokesman for the Provost’s Office, wrote that the consultative committee will work with a professional search firm, which has yet to be determined, to compile a list of candidates for Gould’s position. The Provost will use the list to make his choice for the new ICA director.

“There is not yet a formal timeline for nominations or for a new director’s start date,” Charney wrote in an email.

Al Filreis, faculty director of the Kelly Writers House and the director of the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, was appointed to the consultative committee. He expressed interest in helping find the new ICA director as he works “very closely” with the ICA through his two positions.

Filreis said he will be looking for someone with “a sense of contemporariness, who knows what the trend is going to be in the future [and] who is collaborative.”

“I am a big fan of Claudia’s directorship, and I hope whoever replaces her will more or less continue what she did,” he added.

Gould’s replacement will most likely be from outside the Penn community, Filreis said, adding the new director would bring more “fresh ideas” if he or she is not already at Penn.

“[The] content is constantly changing — contemporary art needs to keep moving,” Filreis added.

This article was updated from its original version to reflect that Chaney served as the ICA director of Curatorial — not Cultural — Affairs.

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