Freiman takes IMA experience to Virginia

Then: Indianapolis Museum of Art curator of contemporary art

Now: Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University director

Age: 50

In her 11 years with the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Lisa Freiman developed a reputation for doing big, ambitious projects, including the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, and the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion, which won a national award from the American Institute of Architects.

So when Virginia Commonwealth University went looking for someone who could create its first Institute for Contemporary Art, it tabbed Freiman. She’s now been in Richmond for almost four years.

“Not a lot of people have had the experience of building a museum from scratch, so this was an opportunity to come and apply what I had learned over so many years in Indianapolis,” she said.

“That was an amazing gig,” she said. “I had the opportunity to really develop as a professional and to experiment and to try ambitious things and do new things. Then I got to come here and take those lessons and apply them to a whole new institution.” •

—Marc Allan