
Housed in the UTC Fine Arts Center, the Institute of Contemporary Art prepares to close out its first art gallery tour.
Rachel Waldrop, the director and curator of the ICA, led the momentous endeavor of getting a collection of work from Philadelphia artist Becky Suss on the road to share her creative storytelling with others.
Suss’s work illustrates “The Dutch House,” a fictional story written by Nashville-based author Ann Patchett and told through the real Elkins Park of Philadelphia.
As someone who grew up in Elkins Park, Suss was excited to see her hometown neighborhood be the setting for a book she loved. After connecting with Patchett and working with the ICA, she brought the story to life through her paintings.
“Becky’s paintings … bring memory and interior spaces to life. She’s reading this book and imagining what ‘The Dutch House’ looked like,” Waldrop said. “She both was pulling out details from the novel … but also pulling things from her own childhood and her own memories.”
With “The Dutch House” being a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Suss’s paintings putting the story into perspective, Waldrop saw an opportunity for the ICA to expand its reach while supporting the careers of Patchett and Suss.
“I do what I do to support artists in their careers,” Waldrop said. “When I see a moment like this where it has some impact on an artist’s career, that means a lot to me.”
Waldrop’s love for “The Dutch House,” coupled with the support of Patchett and the UTC College of Arts and Sciences, made it possible for the collection to become the ICA’s first art show tour.
Beginning in January 2024, “The Dutch House” gallery was showcased at the ICA for two months before traveling to Naples, Florida, to be displayed in The Baker Museum.
This year, from Jan. 25 to March 16, the gallery will be exhibited at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville–a fitting last stop for the show since “The Dutch House” originated there.
“I think (the show) has proven to be a really interesting possibility that we could do here,” Waldrop said. “We can take work in a small campus art gallery that is relevant enough to go to major museums around the country–and I think that’s a really great success story for UTC.”