New York’s International Center of Photography Center (ICP) has announced Cindy Sherman as among its five new trustees. Assuming their positions on the board alongside Sherman are Uzodinma Iweala, chief executive of the Africa Center in Harlem; Toronto-based gallerist Jane Corkin; real estate developer and philanthropist Robert Fribourg, of New York; and Wall Street veteran Jonathan R. Furer.
“I sensed that the organization, in asking me to participate, wanted to branch out from its more traditional roots and be seen in a broader sense of how photography is being used today,” Sherman told the New York Times. “Everyone with a smartphone can relate to photography,” she noted, “much more so than even twenty-five years ago, and that is why it’s more relevant than ever and why more people should discover ICP.”
Executive director David Little, who took the reins of the institution back in September 2021, told the paper that attendance at the ICP—which, like museums, galleries, and arts organizers around the globe, was forced by the Covid-19 pandemic to close temporarily—is still down about 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels, with enrollment in the ICP’s full-time on-site programs diminished by roughly 28 percent.
Little, who arrived to the center with a strong fundraising background and well extensive experience in education and community outreach, noted that by bringing in artists like Sherman and executives like Iweala, he hoped to help the institution move beyond documentary photography and into fine art.
“Going forward, we will also be mounting shows that will be looking at critical issues in culture and society,” he asserted. Little appears to already be making good on his promise: This coming spring, the ICP will host a portrait exhibition curated by Helen Molesworth and featuring work by artists Tacita Dean, Brigitte Lacombe, and Catherine Opie.