Last year, the Santa Monica Museum of Art began the hunt for a new home, focusing their search far away from their old home, in Downtown Los Angeles. Now, a release from the museum confirms a move to the Downtown area, but also notes that, with the move, the museum will be changing its name to reflect its new digs.
Now called the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA; they already changed their Instagram), the museum will be moving into a 12,700-square-foot industrial building on Seventh Street in the super-happening Arts District, right across from the Greyhound bus station. (Edgy.)
The museum started looking for a new home after a rough span at its old one in the Bergamot Art Station. Redevelopment plans that would have included a new home and a cushy endowment for the 32-year-old institution didn't pan out, and relations with their landlord turned increasingly sour after their rent was hiked up to more than triple its previous rate.
The Arts District facilities will be designed by the architecture firm wHY, which also has a proposal in the running for the Pershing Square redesign nearby in DTLA's Financial District.
The newly crowned ICA LA will have room in its new home for public programming, "an experimental kitchen-café," and its retail store. It's scheduled to open next spring.
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