ICA Boston Opens Watershed Exhibition Space in Former Shipyard

The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston has inaugurated its new satellite venue, the ICA Watershed, on July 4, 2018. Located within the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina, the 1,400-square-meter former industrial shed was renovated for $5 million by Anmahian Winton Architects, transforming a dilapidated structure into a civic and cultural resource. The space retains its industrial atmosphere and will host a rotating summer commission for site-specific installations. For its inaugural exhibition, artist Diana Thater reworked two earlier works, including Delphine (1999-2018), an interactive video installation that places viewers in the perspective of a diver surrounded by dolphins. ICA director Jill Medwedow described the immersive and responsive nature of the art as defining features of the venue. The Watershed is open until October 4, 2018, and is reachable from the main ICA building via a six-minute ferry ride. This expansion is part of a broader trend of US museum building projects, including the Glassell School by Steven Holl and Deborah Nevins at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Dia Art Foundation's renovation, and the Hood Museum of Art expansion by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.