Institute of Contemporary Art

Photographer and community activist Thaddeus Miles wants to see more Black joy. That’s been his mission since 2019 and for the past five years he’s collaborated with the ICA Boston to celebrate Black Joy Day in September.

When the Gun Violence Memorial Project was launched in 2019, there were an average of 700 gun-related deaths every week in the United States. In 2024, the weekly average has been 840. The need for a space of collective mourning, remembrance and awareness is greater than ever.

“Firelei Báez,” the spellbinding exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston through Sept. 2, is the first U.S. survey of this Dominican American artist, whose works are often described as history paintings for our time.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, in Boston’s burgeoning Seaport neighborhood, strives to be a place of community engagement rather than a stiff shrine to famous artists. The latest part of that initiative is “Destiny Doorways: Creating the Doors We Walk Through,” an installation by Boston native and local artist Mithsuca Berry.