ICA names new head after seven-month search

Artist and curator Claudia Gould was named the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art last week. Claudia Gould, head of a New York City-based arts organization and exhibition space, has been appointed the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, the University announced last Thursday. In a statement announcing the appointment, University Provost Robert Barchi described Gould as "enormously creative, energetic and articulate," explaining that her "keen insight and a deep background into the contemporary art scene" caught the attention of both the ICA and the University. "It is her unique blend of creative and management expertise that made her the perfect choice for the ICA," Barchi said. The search for a new director had lasted seven months, beginning when former director Patrick Murphy stepped down in mid-November. Murphy served as director for eight years and announced his resignation last September. Judith Tannenbaum, the ICA's associate director and curator, has served as interim director since Murphy's departure. Gould will take the reigns September 7, at which time Tannenbaum will return to her former post. She also held the position nine years ago before Murphy took over as director. Gould, 42, said yesterday that she is excited to join the ICA and hopes to "get different facets of the University involved" in the institute. "I really like working with emerging artists and students and people that are learning and completely open to learning," Gould said. During Gould's five-year tenure at Artists Space, she has worked to repair the organization financially -- including increasing the space's funding, eliminating a deficit and creating an endowment fund. With the aid of Management Consultants for the Arts, a professional search firm, the committee in charge of meeting candidates -- comprised of three representatives each from the ICA and the University -- originally identified nine candidates for the job. After the first round of interviews, the committee then pared the list down to three contenders, which they submitted to Barchi and University President Judith Rodin, who then selected Gould. The search committee had maintained that it would find a new director by July 1. According to Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack, who headed the search committee, Gould's leadership experience at Artists Space, coupled with her personal work in the arts, made her a perfect candidate for the job. "She's going to be a marvelous director," Hack said. "She brings spirit and energy into the ICA." And Tannenbaum -- who was not interested in contending for the permanent job -- said that Gould has "done a really good job" at Artists Space, adding that working within the University "should be an interesting challenge" for her. "There's a lot of interest in being more integral to the University," Tannenbaum. "We want to have people both in the University and the community know that the ICA is here." As the new ICA director, Gould will supervise all operations -- including financial and personnel management, fundraising, exhibitions and interacting with the University -- as well as determine the center's overall artistic direction. Gould said that she hopes to "forge better ties with the University" and the surrounding Philadelphia area and plans to ensure that the ICA's message is uniform. Gould has a B.A. in Art History from Boston College and a masters in Museum Studies from New York University. The ICA, located at 36th and Sansom streets and overseen by the provost's office, has long featured avant-garde exhibits of contemporary art. It was the ICA, for example, that first exhibited the work of then-unknown artist Andy Warhol and became the first public space to show his work.

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