The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston is commemorating its 90th anniversary with an exhibition that traces its pivotal role in shaping the city’s contemporary art landscape. Founded in 1936, the ICA has a long-standing reputation as a venue willing to challenge prevailing cultural norms and embrace innovative artistic expression.

One of the exhibition’s highlights revisits the 1941 show “Modern Mexican Painters,” which introduced Boston audiences to influential artists such as Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueros. Archival photographs displayed alongside present-day installations reveal the continuity of the ICA’s commitment to showcasing groundbreaking art through the decades.

The ICA’s history is marked by moments that disrupted the city’s more conservative cultural environment. A notable example is Andy Warhol’s 1966 survey at the institution’s former location on Newbury Street, during which Warhol’s Factory-associated band, the Velvet Underground, performed. Included in the current exhibit is a display of Warhol’s “Silver Clouds,” helium-filled metallic balloons that embody the museum’s openness to experimental and avant-garde art.

Throughout its history, the ICA has played a crucial role in presenting feminist art. Its 1970 exhibition “Seven Sculptors: New Involvement with Materials” featured female artists like Barbara Zucker and Jackie Ferrara, whose work contributed to the early foundations of the feminist art movement.

The institution has also provided early platforms for now internationally acclaimed artists. Ellen Gallagher’s 2001 solo museum exhibition, “Watery Ecstatic,” marked her first such show, while Simone Leigh, who made her ICA debut more recently, represented the United States at the 2022 Venice Biennale, with the ICA’s support.

While Boston’s major museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum have expansive historical collections, many have increasingly incorporated contemporary programming. Other regional institutions like Tufts University Art Gallery, the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s museum contribute to the area’s dynamic contemporary art scene. Last year, the Boston Public Art Triennial launched a citywide initiative promoting contemporary public art, involving many of these institutions.

The ICA’s 90-year trajectory underscores its role as a consistently progressive force in Boston’s cultural ecosystem. Although the city’s art scene has evolved to include a broader embrace of contemporary work, the ICA remains a vital platform for new voices and experimental practices, maintaining the standard it has set since its founding. The exhibition offers a reflection on the institution’s past while signaling an ongoing commitment to fostering artistic innovation in the years ahead.