June 2020 letter from ICA Miami

Dear ICA Miami community,

In this moment of incredible anguish, we reaffirm that ICA Miami stands in solidarity with the community organizers, activists, and artists who denounce racism, police brutality, and systemic injustice in our society. I wanted to share with you an update about additional action the museum is taking to step up in our current moment and address systemic racism as an institution.

I have been proud to see many of our staff members protest and actively participate in our democracy, and to discuss with them and with audiences how ICA Miami can support and catalyze much-needed change. Art must connect to its time, or else it is irrelevant. Our mission is to provide a platform for “the exchange of art and ideas,” and we would fail if that did not include acknowledging the revolutionary ideas of our Black leaders. This is a commitment we have made since our founding, and have sought to achieve throughout exhibitions and education programs that represent the stories of our community.

To pursue this goal even more assertively, we are today committing that ICA Miami will take a fully majority-minority approach to our programming. In addition, this year and for the foreseeable future, we are dedicating 75% of our acquisitions budget to representing communities of color. We look forward to building on this commitment for years to come.

At present our staff has compiled a resource page to amplify important work by organizations and voices to correct racism and injustice, in continuation of our role as a platform and advocate. We hope that these materials can offer historical and theoretical complements to direct activism and inspire participation in effecting positive change. If we have missed something, or if you have suggestions that can help us better understand this international crisis, please share that with us here.

We mourn the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade, among the countless others who have been victims of racialized police violence. Miami, like communities throughout this country, is profoundly impacted by forces of systemic oppression that affect our livelihoods, our cities, and our culture. As conscientious citizens rise up to demand radical change and equality, we acknowledge how much work we still have left to do.