Who we are
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the practice and appreciation of the classical tradition in architecture, urban planning, and the allied arts. The Institute’s headquarters in New York and twelve regional chapters together offer a diverse array of courses, publications, lectures, awards, and travel programs. Today there are fourteen regional and local Institute chapters together extending this unique public service: Charleston Chapter | Charlotte Chapter | Chicago & Illinois | Florida Chapter | Mid-Atlantic Chapter | New England Chapter | Northern California Chapter | Ohio & Erie Chapter | Philadelphia Chapter | Rocky Mountain Chapter | Southeast Chapter | Southern California Chapter | Tennessee Chapter | Texas Chapter
The organization is a valued educational resource for students of art, planning, and architecture, design professionals, and the general public assisted today by the growing network of regional and local chapters. The ICA&CA offers a wide array of programs: a Master of Science degree with concentration in classical design with Georgia Tech; continuing education classes; travel programs; lectures; salons; and conferences. It publishes an academic journal called The Classicist as well as the acclaimed book series called the “Classical America Series in Art and Architecture.” The Grand Central Academy of Art flourishes as the Institute’s division of fine arts pedagogy.
Partnerships with non-architect home builders via the American Institute of Building Design as well as Habitat for Humanity International bring the traditional design skills sustained and disseminated by the Institute to bear in diverse communities across America. A blog further offers a voice for advocacy.
Mission
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA) is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the practice and appreciation of the classical tradition in architecture and the allied arts.
ICA&CA fulfills its mission through four program areas: education, publications, awards, and advocacy.
Educaton
ICA&CA provides a forum and comprehensive educational resource for students, design and building professionals, and the general public, both in the United States and in Europe.
Academic Programs include a Master of Science in classical design with Georgia Tech; continuing education courses, study tours, seminars, and intensive winter and summer programs for professionals.
Public Education Programs include lectures, exhibits, walking and travel tours, and conferences on classical architecture and the allied arts.
Publications
We keep our members informed and connected to the very best of classicism and its contemporary application. ICA&CA publishes an annual journal, The Classicist, and new and reprinted books on classical design through “The Classical America Series in Art and Architecture.” The Forum, a newsletter for members, is published two times a year.
Awards
Through the annual Arthur Ross Awards ceremony, ICA&CA recognizes excellence by honoring the achievements and contributions of architects, painters, sculptors, artisans, landscape designers, patrons, and others in preserving and advancing the classical tradition. The Rieger-Graham Prize and the Alma Schapiro Prize provide opportunities for designers, architects and fine artists to study abroad as affiliated fellows of the American Academy in Rome.
Advocacy
ICA&CA maintains a strong voice in the public domain, championing the continuation of the classical tradition as a vital cultural resource.
The Grand Central Academy of Art
The Grand Central Academy of Art at the ICA&CA was created by professional, exhibiting artists to offer classical training to serious students. The Academy offers a positive environment for classical, progressive instruction of drawing and painting. The goal of the Academy is to train a generation of highly skilled, aesthetically sensitive artists in the humanist tradition. The further mission of the Grand Central Academy is to offer a public place for the revival of the classical art tradition; to foster and support a community of artists in pursuit of aesthetic refinement, a high level of skill and beauty. The Director of the GCA is New York artist and ICA&CA Board Member, Jacob Collins.