A Successful Journey in the Arts: 1972 Alumna Offers Creative Insights

The beauty and creative nature of the arts has allowed Class of 1972 alumna Jill Medvedow to build a life full of transformative experiences. As she is in the process of navigating a career shift, Jill shared parting wisdom from a lifetime of modern art.

“While I am not retiring from a career in the arts, I want to take a moment and think about my next steps,” said Jill. “Most importantly, I wanted the ICA to be at a point of strength before I stepped down.” 

Since 1998, Jill has served as the Ellen Matilda Poss Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Mass. In her almost 30-year career at ICA, she led its transformation from a small gallery that was previously located in a former police station to a major contemporary art museum, a national leader in teen arts education, and a pioneering advocate for the role of art in civic life. Under her leadership, the waterfront campus expanded to three buildings and annual attendance grew to more than 300,000 visitors. Additionally, the ICA’s teen initiative was recognized with a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program award from the White House in 2012.

Prior to her tenure at ICA, Jill was the deputy director and curator of Contemporary Art at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. She is also the founder of Vita Brevis, a public art initiative that commissions artists from around the world to create temporary works of public art in response to Boston's rich landscape and history.

Growing up in New Haven, Jill was surrounded by endless amounts of art and found a deep connection to the medium. She recalled painting a large, six-foot canvas at a young age as her mother’s friend was a professional artist along with taking the bus to the Yale Art Museum stating it was one of the great, transformative experiences of her life. Her artistic appreciation flourished at Hamden Hall with the guidance of former art teacher Mrs. DeCarlo and followed her academically as she enrolled at Colgate University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art and art history. She went on to obtain her Master of Arts degree from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. 

“Being in the art world is a world of openness, freedom, and tolerance, and that’s what I wanted,” noted Jill. “Art tells the story of humanity as it reflects the outer world and the changes in our society. Stand in front of a work of art, don’t think, just ask yourself what you see. What do you feel? Beauty makes your heart swell and art museums are a place of welcome and access.”

Jill began her career working at major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Franklin Furnace in Brooklyn. In 1984, she founded the non-profit and artist-run 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, Wash., and worked at an artist colony in the Adirondacks before moving to Boston in 1986. While living in Boston, Jill served as the deputy director of the New England Foundation for the Arts before transitioning to the position of program director at WGBH, a public radio station.

As Jill steps down from ICA this March and into a new world, she plans to spend time visiting her family and some friends from her Hamden Hall days. She wants to spend more time outdoors as well with hopes to travel internationally to Mexico, Italy, and Greece. Art will always remain the cornerstone of Jill’s life and she encourages those interested in artistic careers to pursue their dreams.

“It’s not an easy road, but we need more committed, passionate people who see the world differently,” she said. “Even if you are not engaging with art daily, recognize that you are a creative being and certainly visit and support your local art museum.”