With its rapidly expanding gallery scene in the Downtown Arts District and beyond, Los Angeles has been touted for its focus on hot new artists in recent years. The scramble to harness this youthful energy has also inspired museum redesigns left and right.
Enter Jamillah James, who joins the newly re-branded Institute of Contemporary Art, LA (formerly the Santa Monica Museum of Art) as its inaugural curator downtown. The appointment, which James characterizes as an institutional “slam dunk,” comes months after the ICA LA relocated to a sprawling 12,700-square-foot space in the Arts District.
“[The ICA LA] have been early supporters of countless artists I hold dear, like Liza Lou and Mickalene Thomas,” James explained in a phone conversation with artnet News, adding that “they’ve been a champion of artists of color which is important to me.” James told artnet News that she plans on delivering more of the same, with special attention to local artists as well as international names.
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