ICA chair to continue mission of ‘fearless free expression’

The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) has selected Professor Dame HENRIETTA L MOORE DBE to succeed artist WOLFGANG TILLMANS as chair.

Taking up the post this autumn, Moore is the founder and director of the Institute for Global Prosperity and chair in Culture, Philosophy and Design at University College London.

With experience spanning the arts, policy, and business, Moore has held several trustee and board positions, including at the British Academy and the Barbican Centre.

ICA director BENGI ÜNSAL said that as the second ever woman to hold the role in ICA’s eight-decade history, Moore’s appointment “powerfully echoes” the organisation’s founding mission “to be a space where radical ideas, artistic risk-taking, and intellectual leadership converge to create new ways of thinking”.

“At a time of global volatility and profound cultural transformation, Professor Moore’s vision – amplified through her pioneering leadership of the Institute for Global Prosperity – offers an alternative voice rooted in the intersection of economics, politics, ecology, and culture,” said Ünsal.

“Her expertise in social thought, equality, and global futures chimes deeply with the ICA’s values and will help guide the institution into its next exciting chapter. Together, we will continue to build an ICA that is fearless in its commitment to free expression, bold in its artistic ambition, and open to the world.”

Moore added: “There has never been a more important time to support new generations of artists, allowing their creativity, experimentation and innovation to help us navigate both the turbulence and the opportunities of the contemporary moment”.