The Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow (ICA Moscow) was launched in 1991, and it is an independent non-profit organisation which aims at realizing exhibitions, research and educational projects, intended to form the basis of intensive discussions and to assist in creating an intellectual atmosphere around the phenomena of contemporary art and culture. Initially it was an initiative by several Moscow artists and critics to represent the alternative movements in Russian art of the 1970s-1980s, but in 2001 the ICA Moscow joined with a new and permanent partner, the State Centre for Museums and Exhibitions, part of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. From that moment on, all its initiatives are aimed at integrating contemporary Russian art into the structures of the international art world.

The Institute carries out case studies and analysis of the history, theory and philosophy of contemporary art and organizes various seminars and conferences, focused on studies of new art trends as well as formulation of the new role of curators and critics in the Russian art world. It organizes exhibitions which reflect the changes in contemporary art and visual culture, and edits exhibition catalogues, collections of articles and translations, dedicated to issues in contemporary art, as well as monographs by prominent Russian and foreign art scholars.

The educational program "New Strategies in Contemporary Art Education" forms a basic part of the ICA Moscow activities. The students of the program attend lectures and seminars on the theory, history and philosophy of the 20th century art. The lectures are given by leading Russian and foreign scholars. The theoretical part of the Program is complemented by master classes, aimed at mastering the art and understanding contemporary aesthetics. Multimedia technologies are also involved in this exploration of modern art practices.

Another goal of the program is to integrate the most talented students into the international art process by supporting their participation in different exhibitions in Russia and abroad. The international part of the Program, "New Art Strategy for International Partnership", is a long-term project of summer schools and numerous exchange projects carried out in collaboration with Schools and Academies of Fine Arts in Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Finland and Sweden. The successful outcome of this part of the project is confirmed by the numbers of the Program's graduate students, who were able to continue their education at several prestigious institutions.

Another important project initiated by the Institute, is focused on art managers' continuous education. This is particularly important for Russian art market development. This course covers the economic, legal and other technical issues of arts management as well as orientations on Public Relations technologies and lectures on theory and philosophy of contemporary art.