• Major landmark exhibition of art from and about Palestine from the esteemed Sharjah Art Foundation Collection
• An exhibition presenting over 60 artworks by Eltiqa, an artist collective from Gaza City
• Film screenings of work by Palestinian artists, including a special one-day screening to mark Palestine Cinema Days

29/10/2026

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is proud to launch its Autumn/Winter programme with a special focus on Palestine, featuring two new exhibitions alongside a programme of film screenings, talks and events, that explore the richness and resilience of Palestinian artistic practice.

Opening on 22 October, Eltiqa: How to Work Together? presents the work of six artists from Eltiqa, an artist collective from Gaza City curated by The Question of Funding. For over 20 years, Eltiqa (Arabic for “encounter”) have developed artistic practices together while supporting younger generations of artists in Gaza. The agile, creative and community-orientated nature of their artistic practice and economic model has helped the group sustain itself through years of political, economic and cultural struggles.

Featuring more than 60 artworks by Mohamed Abusal, Abdel Raouf Al-Ajouri, Mohammed Al-Hawajri, Raed Issa, Dina Matar and Sohail Salem, the exhibition tells the story of a community that continues to overcome years of oppression. The exhibition includes an extensive timeline from 1948 to 2026, covering major events in Palestine in addition to key moments and in the lives and careers of Eltiqa members and the Eltiqa Gallery in Gaza.

Opening on 19 November, A Sea for Borrowed Time, is a major exhibition of contemporary Palestinian art in partnership with Sharjah Art Foundation. Bringing together works by leading Palestinian artists and others responding to Palestine – featuring Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Basma Al Sharif, Simone Fattal, Shadi Habib Allah, Rula Halawani, Hazem Harb, Khalil Rabah and Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara – the exhibition examines how contemporary artists have responded to histories of political resistance, displacement, occupation, memory and solidarity through photography, sculpture, installation, film and painting.

Drawing on works from the Sharjah Art Foundation’s internationally significant collection, the exhibition explores the diversity of Palestinian artistic practice across generations. Rather than following a chronological approach, the exhibition moves between testimony, memory, lived experience and imagination, bringing together artists who have developed visual languages to address histories that continue to shape Palestinian life.

The exhibition includes a major focus on Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara (1933-2020), a self-taught artist whose practice was deeply connected to the Palestinian struggle. A major figure in Palestinian modern art, the exhibition highlights Zarara’s contribution to the visual culture of Palestinian resistance and the international networks through which his work travelled, situating Palestine and Ireland within wider histories of solidarity, anti-colonial struggle and self-determination. At its centre is a recently acquired relief connected to Ireland, discovered in the artist’s studio shortly before his death and shown publicly for the first time, offering a striking connection between Palestinian artistic production and Irish histories of cultural and political solidarity.

From 29 October an outdoor screening programme of film works, titled Is Everything and Everyone all the Time, curated by The Question of Funding will be screened on Living Canvas at IMMA in parallel with the exhibition Eltiqa: How to Work Together?. The programme brings together three films: Basma Alsharif’s We Began By Measuring Distance (2009), Rosalind Nashashibi’s Electrical Gaza (2015), and Oraib Toukan’s When Things Occur (2016) which focus on the impossibility of representing Gaza. Each film confronts, in a different way, this crisis of representation; the impossibility of communicating an experience shaped by siege, death, destruction, and separation when the available images themselves risk producing further distance. The films search for forms of intimacy, mediation, and address that might resist the familiar visual languages through which Gaza has been made legible to the outside world.

IMMA will also take part in Palestine Cinema Days on 2 November, an international showcase of Palestinian cinema that brings audiences together worldwide each year around Palestinian stories, memory, and lived experiences. This global initiative of 1,000 screenings will take place across the world in cinemas, universities, cultural centres and other venues. Now in its fourth year the theme of the 2026 festival is Cinema Across Borders. Stories Beyond Erasure. IMMA will screen a series of documentaries by Gazawyat, produced by Filmlab Palestine, directed by Khaled Tuaima, Moayed Abu Ammouneh, Shorouq Al-Aila and Aisha Adly.

The Question of Funding, curators of Eltiqa: How to Work Together?, said:
“As the curators of Eltiqa: How to Work Together?, the challenge of making this exhibition while the genocide continues to unfold was a daunting one. The physical feasibility of doing so was only made possible by the fact that some members of Eltiqa were able to flee Gaza, and that artworks were already dispersed geographically through solidarity networks or recently salvaged during the genocide. The question of whether exhibiting art from Gaza now normalises the ongoing genocide remains, for us, a dilemma”.

Curator Hoor Al Qasimi, Director, Sharjah Art Foundation, said:
“The artists in this exhibition have engaged with the occupation of Palestine and the displacement of its people, while shedding light on life that persists beyond rupture. By bringing together these works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection to IMMA, we wanted to share these stories with the wider public and form moments of resonance. We hope that this exhibition opens up a dialogue on land, colonial histories and resistance, as well as the importance of art as a carrier of memories across generations.”

Annie Fletcher, Director, IMMA, said:
“This special programme and the resulting collaborations reflects the value of cultural exchange and the possibilities that emerge when we connect different geographical, historical and artistic perspectives. At IMMA, we believe in the importance of presenting ambitious international programmes that challenge perspectives, and deepen our understanding of the world through contemporary art. These two exhibitions embody that commitment, creating space for dialogue, and new ways of seeing, while offering Irish audiences a rare opportunity to experience important Palestinian artworks”.

 

29 October 2026

 

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact:  
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023
Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957
IMMA Press Office: E: [email protected]

Additional Notes for Editors

Programme details

Eltiqa: How to Work Together?   
23 October 2026 – 21 February 2027
Further details visit Eltiqa: How to Work Together? exhibition – IMMA

Participating artists
Mohammad Al-Hawajri (b.1976, Gaza)

Raed Issa (b.1975, Gaza)

Dina Matar’s (b. 1985, Gaza)

Mohamed Abusal (b. 1976, Gaza)

Abdel Raouf Al-Ajouri (b.1977, Gaza)

Sohail Salem (b. 1974, Gaza)

Is Everything and Everyone all the Time, curated by The Question of Funding

Living Canvas at IMMA
29 October – 11 November 2026 / daily from 9.30am to 6.30pm
Featuring Basma Al Sharif’s We Began by Measuring Distance (2009), Oraib Toukan’s When Things Occur (2016) and Rosalind Nashashibi’s Electrical Gaza (2015).

This screening programme coincides with the Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational annual symposium, Transnational Resistances (Tate Modern, 6-7 November 2026), in which IMMA is a partner. The Symposium brings together the practices of artists and academics working with communities in resisting erasure and challenging entrenched systems of power. The symposium is in dialogue with IMMA’s current programmes, and includes contribution by The Question of Funding. Transnational Resistances is organised by Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational, in partnership with Hyundai Motor, in partnership with IMMA and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. Available to live stream, further details visit Tate website here

 

About the Curator: The Question of Funding is a growing collective of cultural producers and community organisers from Palestine. By producing, documenting, accumulating, and disseminating resources, experience, and knowledge with their wider community, it aims to rethink the economy of funding and how it affects cultural production both in Palestine and the world. The Question of Funding members, curators for this exhibition are

Yazan Khalili is a Researcher, Visual Artist, Cultural Producer, and Lara Khaldi from Jerusalem, Palestine and currently based in Amsterdam, is the Director of the contemporary art space de Appel. Yazan Khalili’s research for this exhibition is part of his PhD work within IMAGINART – Imagining Institutions Otherwise: Art, Politics, and State Transformation, financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

A Sea for Borrowed Time

بحر للزمان المستعار
19 November 2026 – 4 July 2027
Further details visit Sharjah Art Foundation Collection exhibition – IMMA

Participating artists

Tarek Al-Ghoussein (1972-2022, Kuwait)

Basma Al Sharif (b. 1983, Kuwait City)

Simone Fattal (b. 1942, Damascus, Syria

Shadi Habib Allah (b. 1977, Jerusalem, Palestine)

Rula Halawani (b. 1964, Jerusalem, Palestine

Hazem Harb (b. 1980, Gaza, Palestine)

Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara (1933-2020, Hebron, Palestine)

Khalil Rabah (b. 1961, Jerusalem, Palestine)

A Sea for Borrowed Time is organised by IMMA and Sharjah Art Foundation and is curated by Hoor Al Qasimi.

About Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications. www.sharjahart.org/en/

About Sharjah
Sharjah is the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates, and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. It was named UNESCO’s Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019.

IMMA Opening Hours 

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 5.30pm

Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm

Sunday: 12 noon – 5.30pm

Bank Holiday Mondays: 12 noon – 5.30pm

Admission: Free

The Palestinian Ambassador, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, visited the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) today (Thursday 22 October 2026) for a preview of Eltiqa: How to Work Together? an exhibition of artists from Eltiqa, an artist collective from Gaza City curated by The Question of Funding, opening tomorrow (Friday 23 October 2026). The exhibition is a collaboration with Art Jameel and tours to IMMA from Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Featuring more than 60 artworks by Mohamed Abusal, Abdel Raouf Al-Ajouri, Mohammed Al-Hawajri, Raed Issa, Dina Matar and Sohail Salem, the exhibition tells the story of a community that continues to overcome years of oppression. For over 20 years, Eltiqa (Arabic for “encounter”) have developed artistic practices together while supporting younger generations of artists in Gaza. The agile, creative and community-oriented nature of their artistic practice and economic model has helped the group sustain itself through years of political, economic and cultural struggles.

The Palestinian Ambassador, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, said: “I am grateful to IMMA for hosting and facilitating the Eltiqa Collective’s presentation of Palestinian artists from Gaza and their artistic practices at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. It is wonderful to see 60 works by six Palestinian artists who have managed to sustain this collective despite extraordinary and unimaginable circumstances in Gaza. I hope this exhibition will amplify their voices and convey a powerful message of resilience and hope.”

This exhibition Eltiqa: How to Work Together? consists of a selection of artworks produced by Eltiqa members from 2002 to 2025. The artworks are two-dimensional works that range in media from small sketches on notebooks, to drawings created from found materials to large scale paintings, and photographs. While some artists, such as Dina Matar, portray colourful depictions and motifs celebrating Palestinian life and resistance, other artists such as Raed Issa, depict more sombre aspects of the reality in Gaza.

The exhibition includes an extensive timeline from 1948 to 2026, covering major events in Palestine in addition to key moments in the lives and careers of Eltiqa members and the Eltiqa Gallery in Gaza. This timeline is illustrated using archival images from the artists, together with a series of anecdotes showcasing oral histories.

The artworks arrived at this exhibition from different places and times. Some were produced and exhibited years ago, remaining in the trust of institutions and individuals due to the difficulty of their returning to Gaza, some works were carried out of Gaza with members of the collective who were able to leave in the early days of the genocide, while other works were recently produced and smuggled out of Gaza in various ways as an act of preservation. This gathering of works points to a network of solidarity, and is an act of anti-dispersal and reunion, during this time of forced dispersal. Some members of the collective remain in Gaza in constant forced displacement, while others are newly exiled abroad.

The Question of Funding said: “As the genocide unfolds before our eyes, and Gaza and its people are being systematically destroyed, this exhibition tells the story of a community that has managed to overcome years of oppression. The artworks on view arrived at this exhibition from different places and times. Some works were hand-carried out of Gaza with members of the collective who were able to leave during different phases of the genocide, some in late 2023, and others in late 2025. Other artworks were smuggled out of Gaza in various ways as an act of preservation. This gathering of works points to a network of solidarity against dispersal and erasure”.

From 29 October an outdoor screening programme of film works, titled Is Everything and Everyone all the Time, curated by The Question of Funding will be screened on Living Canvas at IMMA in parallel with the exhibition. The programme brings together three films Basma Alsharif’s We Began By Measuring Distance (2009), Rosalind Nashashibi’s Electrical Gaza (2015), and Oraib Toukan’s When Things Occur (2016) which focus on the impossibility of representing Gaza. Each film confronts, in a different way, this crisis of representation; the impossibility of communicating an experience shaped by siege, death, destruction, and separation when the available images themselves risk producing further distance. The films search for forms of intimacy, mediation, and address that might resist the familiar visual languages through which Gaza has been made legible to the outside world.

This exhibition is part of a long-term collaboration between The Question of Funding collective and Eltiqa. A previous iteration of the exhibition was conceived for documenta15 (2022), and an expanded display was shown in the Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 5 February to 20 July 2025.

22 October 2026

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact:  
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023 Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957
IMMA Press Office: E: [email protected]

Additional Notes for Editors:

Eltiqa: How to Work Together?
23 October 2026 – 21 February 2027
Further details visit imma.ie

Participating artists
Mohammad Al-Hawajri (b.1976, Gaza)
Raed Issa (b.1975, Gaza)
Dina Matar’s (b. 1985, Gaza)
Mohamed Abusal (b. 1976, Gaza)
Abdel Raouf Al-Ajouri (b.1977, Gaza)
Sohail Salem (b. 1974, Gaza)

Screening Programme
Is Everything and Everyone all the Time, curated by The Question of Funding
Living Canvas at IMMA
29 October – 11 November 2026 / daily from 9.30am to 6.30pm Basma Al Sharif, We Began by Measuring Distance, (2009) Oraib Toukan, When Things Occur, (2016)
Rosalind Nashashibi, Electrical Gaza, (2015)

About the Curator:

Curated by The Question of Funding a collective of artists and cultural producers from Palestine and beyond, the collective research the economic structures of art and aims to produce new economic models for cultural production.

The Question of Funding (QoF) started through decentralized conversations in Ramallah, Palestine, where a large community of artists and cultural practitioners were frustrated with working and critiquing the monoculture produced by years of conditional international funding. The individuals, coming themselves from different NGOs, formed a collective to find affirmative ways to confront this culture of constant funding crises. They have worked collectively on grassroot economics in different ways. Through developing dayra in Palestine, a currency, or an economic medium, they make use of available resources through trust systems within small communities based on blockchain technologies. The collective collaborated with storytellers, designers, and illustrators in the Arab region, producing four children’s books, published by Koenig Books, on issues related to labour, communal resources, and value. In Kassel for documenta 15, QoF extended the invitation to Eltiqa, a 20-year-old artist collective from Gaza and presented their paintings within a matrix of a timeline and research material as a model for economic and artistic resilience.

The Question of Funding members, curators for this exhibition:

Yazan Khalili is a Researcher, Visual Artist, Cultural Producer. He works in and out of Palestine, currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he is a PhD candidate at Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), University of Amsterdam. In 2020 he co-founded Radio Alhara, and in 2019 he co-founded The Question of Funding collective.

Yazan Khalili’s research for this exhibition is part of his PhD work within IMAGINART – Imagining Institutions Otherwise: Art, Politics, and State Transformation, financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Lara Khaldi is from Jerusalem, Palestine and currently based between Amsterdam and Jerusalem. She is the director of the contemporary art space de Appel. She was part of the curatorial team of documenta 15, and the head of the Media Studies Program at Alquds Bard College, Jerusalem, and a tutor in the Disarming Design MA program at Sandberg Institute, 2020-2022.

IMMA Opening Hours
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 5.30pm
Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm
Sunday: 12 noon – 5.30pm
Bank Holiday Mondays: 12 noon – 5.30pm

Admission: Free

IMMA opens landmark exhibition on peacebuilding through art in post-conflict Europe

Landmark exhibition features 59 artists from 17 countries across Europe.

The exhibition draws parallels between the conflict in Northern Ireland and subsequent peace process, with those of our European counterparts that have had similar trajectories in transitioning from states of conflict into democratic states of peace and stability.

More than 100 works on display, including almost 60 international works that have never been shown in Ireland before, pieces from IMMA’s Collection on public display for the first time, and work that has been specifically commissioned for the exhibition.

Dublin, 11 September 2026 – A landmark exhibition called Technologies of Peace: Art & Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989 – 2026) will be launched at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Dublin this evening.

A flagship exhibition in the EU Presidency’s cultural programme, Technologies of Peace draws on the artistic, political, and social perspectives of 59 artists from 17 countries across Europe.

Spanning video, photography, installation, sculpture and archival material, the works illustrate how European communities, including post-dictatorship countries, have moved from conflict to fragile peace in the wake of war and upheaval.

Amongst them are almost 60 international works that have never been shown in Ireland before, as well as pieces from IMMA’s Collection that are on public display for the first time, and work that has been specifically commissioned for the exhibition.

The exhibition takes the form of five chapters – Technologies of Peace, Language & Translation, Trauma & Reverberation, Ecology & Architecture, and Imagining Futures. Each chapter highlights the shared histories and interconnected futures that bind European societies together, while recognising the different paths through which they have navigated division, memory and change.

In particular, the exhibition seeks to draw parallels between Ireland’s complex political history, particularly the conflict in Northern Ireland and subsequent peace process, with those of our European counterparts that have had similar trajectories in transitioning from states of conflict into democratic states of peace and stability.

In its understanding of peace as something built and renewed through practical acts of connection across communities and traditions, as well as more complex legalities and ongoing negotiations, the exhibition considers peace not as a fixed condition, but as an active process of creation, maintenance, care, compromise and collective imagination.

Technologies of Peace features works by several renowned Irish artists, some of whose works are part of IMMA’s National Collection and will be shown at IMMA as part of this exhibition for the first time. They include the Derry-born artist Willie Doherty, Donegal-born artist Frances Hegarty and Belfast-born Cathy Wilkes and Rita Duffy.

Willie Doherty is renowned for his ongoing research into the relation between trauma and memory in post-conflict Northern Ireland. ENDLESS, Doherty’s film on display as part of the exhibition, reflects on the nature of mistrust and deception in a divided community, locating these concerns against a backdrop of post-truth politics and the corruption of democracy.

International artists include Marina Abramović, Petrit Halilaj, Goshka Macuga, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Claudia Pagès Rabal, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Indrė Šerpytytė and Slavs and Tatars, many of whose works will be seen by Irish audiences for the first time.

Marina Abramović, the much-celebrated Serbian performance artist, is showing one of her works from 2001 called The Hero. The film is dedicated to her father, who was a soldier in World War II, and will be available to watch on IMMA’s digital outdoor screen Living Canvas at IMMA, the largest digital art screen in Europe.

Dragana Jurišić, an artist born in the former Yugoslavia, and now living and working in Dublin, also features in the exhibition. In 1991, during the early months of the Yugoslav Wars, Jurišić’s family home was destroyed, and thousands of her father’s photographic prints and negatives were lost in the fire. Her practice attempts to understand what happened in her lost country, how to rationalise her identity and how to envisage post-conflict restoration through her work.

Also included are works by Ursula Burke, Amanda Dunsmore, and Glenn Loughran – participants in IMMA’s Dwell Here Residency Programme. Both Dunsmore and Loughran’s works have been especially commissioned for this exhibition.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan TD, said: “Technologies of Peace is a timely exhibition that brings together artists from across Europe whose work emerges from histories of conflict and transition. At a moment marked by ongoing wars and geopolitical instability, it reminds us that peace is never straightforward. It is a complex and ongoing process – one that needs to be nurtured and sustained.

“With 59 artists from 17 countries, and more than 100 artworks, IMMA is to be commended for the scale and depth of its approach to this topic. With free admission, I hope many people get to enjoy it as part of Ireland’s cultural programme for the EU Presidency. I want to wish IMMA and its team all the best with tonight’s opening and with the ongoing exhibition.” 

Annie Fletcher, Director of IMMA, said: “IMMA is proud to present this landmark exhibition on peacebuilding, reconciliation and social transition in Europe as part of the cultural programme of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. At a time when Europe is confronting profound political, social and cultural challenges, Technologies of Peace explores one of the defining questions of our time: how peace is imagined and sustained in societies shaped by conflict and political transformation.

In particular, by looking at all the ways in which peace is created through small, practical acts, as well as the larger, more newsworthy negotiations, it invites us to consider peace not as a fixed achievement, but as a continuous practice that must be nurtured, negotiated and renewed.

“In this exhibition, ‘technologies’ of peace are the levers and tools through which societies regenerate and navigate a path out of conflict. But they also include cultural forms of exhibition making itself – how cultural expression, publishing, language and artistic experimentation can act as powerful tools for civic repair – reaffirming Europe’s potential for critical reflection, solidarity, and transformation through the arts,” she said.

Technologies of Peace: Art & Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989 – 2026) is the first public presentation of a major five-year research initiative led by IMMA, exploring Technologies of Peace through exhibitions, artist residencies, symposia, co-commissions, research, and publications between 2025 and 2030. The initiative examines the central role artistic practice and cultural experience play in healing societies, fostering reconciliation, and building a shared sense of identity and community.

It will be accompanied by a new publication, launching to coincide with an international Technologies of Peace symposium taking place 3 – 4 December 2026.

An expanded research exhibition will follow in 2028 examining peace in a global context.

Technologies of Peace: Art & Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989 – 2026) opens to the public on September 12^th and runs until May 2027. Admission is free.

Ends

Notes for Editors

A photocall/ media opportunity will take place at IMMA today. To RSVP or to request interviews or images please contact:

Q4 Public Relations Amy Nora Fitzgibbon | [email protected] | 086-255-2035

Or

IMMA

• Patrice Molloy | [email protected] | 086 200-9957
• Monica Cullinane | [email protected] | 086 201-0023

Photography

Images will be released by Mark Stedman: 086 367 9394  [email protected]

About IMMA  

IMMA is Ireland’s National Cultural Institution for Modern and Contemporary Art. Its mission is to connect audiences and art, providing an extraordinary space in Ireland where contemporary life and contemporary art connect, challenge and inspire one another. Its diverse and ambitious programme comprises of exhibitions, commissions and projects by leading Irish and international artists, as well as a rich Engagement and Learning programme which together provides audiences of all ages the opportunity to connect with contemporary art and unlock their creativity.

Situated in Dublin landmark, the 17th century Royal Hospital Kilmainham, IMMA is home to the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, started in 1991 and now numbering over 4,000 artworks by Irish and international artists. IMMA makes this national resource available through exhibitions at the museum, and other venues nationally and internationally, engagement and learning programmes and digital resources. imma.ie  

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and IPUT Real Estate today (Thursday 27 August 2026) announced a two-year extension of their partnership, Living Canvas at IMMA, by launching The Park Series: Living Canvas by IPUT at IMMA as a celebration of the next chapter of this pioneering cultural collaboration. The Park Series has been curated by writer and curator Gemma Tipton, bringing together a diverse range of moving image works that reflect the creativity, innovation and artistic ambition that have defined Living Canvas since its inception in 2021 at IPUT’s Wilton Park development.

Running from 27 August to 10 September 2026, The Park Series: Living Canvas by IPUT at IMMA celebrates both the legacy and future of Living Canvas through a vibrant programme of film, poetry and family screenings on IMMA’s Front Lawn.

Presenting a selection of work by Irish and international artists from the original Living Canvas at Wilton Park programme, the line-up includes Poetry on Film with Literary Lunchtimes, Animation Weekends for families, and screenings featuring artists David OReilly, Alan Gilsenan, Kevin McGloughlin, Simon Reilly, John Beattie, Sofia Crespo and Feileacan McCormick.

When first installed on the banks of the Grand Canal in November 2021, Living Canvas was the largest outdoor digital screen dedicated solely to the arts in Europe, and only the second of its kind in the world. Over ten successful seasons, Living Canvas showcased the work of more than 100 artists and writers, including new commissions of Irish and international work. Initiated by IPUT Real Estate, Living Canvas quickly became an important part of Dublin’s cultural infrastructure, demonstrating the transformative potential of culture-led placemaking and creating new opportunities for artists and audiences to connect in the public realm.

In 2024 Living Canvas found a new home on the grounds of IMMA through a partnership between IMMA and IPUT Real Estate. Together, the organisations have created a radically public cultural platform that extends beyond the Museum walls, enabling audiences to encounter contemporary art in an accessible and welcoming outdoor environment. The screen operates daily, including when the Museum buildings are closed, making art available to audiences in new and unexpected ways.

Niall Gaffney, Chief Executive, IPUT Real Estate, said:

“At IPUT, we believe that culture plays an essential role in creating vibrant and successful cities. Living Canvas is a tangible expression of our commitment to placemaking and to supporting artists, audiences and communities. We are delighted to extend our partnership with IMMA and to celebrate this next phase while also reflecting of the project’s legacy through The Park Series.”

Annie Fletcher, Director, IMMA, said:

“The Park Series is a celebration of everything that was achieved at Wilton Park and a testament to IPUT Real Estate’s continued commitment to supporting Ireland’s cultural sector. Since arriving at IMMA, 750,000 visitors have experienced Living Canvas and it has provided over 3,800 hours of free public engagement with contemporary art and culture. Having this resource has transformed how we connect with audiences and has significantly enhanced our impact and reach. I am delighted that Living Canvas will continue to animate IMMA’s front lawn for another two years, providing a dynamic platform for artistic innovation and integrating contemporary art into daily life in the city.”

A highlight of The Park Series will be the event Spaces for Art on 1 September 2026, bringing together artists, curators and placemakers to explore the role of public space in supporting creativity and cultural participation. The discussion will feature Mary Cremin, Head of Programming, IMMA; Niall Gaffney, Chief Executive, IPUT Real Estate; artists Alan Gilsenan and Ruth Lyons; and will be moderated by Gemma Tipton. The event will be accompanied by two days of screenings including Simon Reilly’s Mind’s Eye, John Beattie’s An Artist, The Studio, and all the rest… and Alan Gilsenan’s Ghosts of Baggotonia.

The renewed partnership will build on the significant impact already achieved through Living Canvas. Since its arrival at IMMA, the platform has generated a social media reach of more than 1.3 million, featured more than 100 Irish and international artists, and has become a focal point for festivals, screenings, public conversations and artistic experimentation. Through the extension of the partnership, IMMA and IPUT Real Estate will continue to develop Living Canvas as one of Ireland’s leading platforms for public engagement with contemporary art, ensuring that culture remains visible, accessible and freely available to all.

– ENDS –

 

For further information and images please contact:

Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023

Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957

IMMA Press Office: E: [email protected]

 

Editors Notes:

 

The Park Series

Living Canvas by IPUT at IMMA

27 August – 10 Sept 2026

Presenting a selection of work by Irish and international artists from Living Canvas at Wilton Park: the programme includes poetry on film with literary lunchtimes, weekend animation mornings for families, and films by David OReilly, Alan Gilsenan, Kevin McGloughlin, Simon Reilly, John Beattie, Sofia Crespo and Feileacan McCormick including;

David OReilly, Eye of the Dream, 2018

Alan Gilsenan, Ghosts of Baggotonia, 2023

Kevin McGloughlin, Repetition, 2019

Feileacan McCormick and Sofia Crespo, Sediment Nodes, 2021/2022

Spaces for Art event screenings:

Simon Reilly, Mind’s Eye, 2026

John Beattie, An Artist, The Studio, and all the rest…, 2006-2012

 

Animation Weekends:

Lorraine Lordan, A Cat Called Jam

Carol Freeman, The Bird and the Whale

Chris Haughton, Well Done, Mummy Penguin

Avery Angle, The Small Makings of a Storm

Farouk Alao, Poem by Catherine Ann Cullen, Buzzin

Conor Finnegan, Fear of Flying

Literary Lunchtimes

 

The Poetry Project

Originally commissioned as part of the Culture Programme of Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2013, The Poetry Project paired contemporary Irish poetry with videos by contemporary Irish artists, curated by Gemma Tipton with Patrick Murphy and Gerry Smyth. Ten Poetry Project films were shown on Living Canvas at Wilton Park, and we are pleased to present six of these.

 

Artist: Cléa van der Grijn, Niesje. Poet: Vona Groarke, The Clutch Handbag

Artist: Aideen Barry, Beyond the Flock. Poet: Máire Mhac an tSaoi, A fhir dar fhulaing

Artist: Nick Miller, The Colours. Poet: John F Deane, The Colours

Artist: Anne Ffrench, until the end. Poet: Iggy McGovern, The Irish Poem Is

Artist: Susan Tiger, Video for “War”. Poet: Enda Wyley, War

Artist: Grace Weir, The Turning Point. Poet: Derek Mahon, Everything Is Going To Be All Right

 

Poetry on Film

Commissioned by the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation and produced by Poetry Ireland, Matthew Thompson’s films bring life to new and beloved poems.  Our chosen films from the programme showed at Wilton Park feature Dawn Watson, Sarah Clancy, FELISPEAKS, Clare Dunne, Paula Meehan, Doireann Ní Ghríofa and Kayssie K.

Also shown is:

Anthony Woods, Text by Colm Tóibín, Canal Water

 

 

Visit imma.ie for detailed programme

IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) today (13 July 2026) announced the appointment of two new members to the Senior Management team – Lisa Fitzsimons as Chief Operating Officer and Eleanor Paice as Head of Visitor Experience and Security

Welcoming the appointments IMMA Director Annie Fletcher said “I am delighted to welcome Lisa and Eleanor to IMMA’s Senior Management Team at a moment of significant opportunity and ambition for the museum. Both bring exceptional leadership, expertise and a deep commitment to public engagement, and they will play a vital role in shaping IMMA’s next chapter.

Over recent years, our team has driven a remarkable transformation across the organisation, strengthening IMMA’s role as a leading cultural institution. As we look to the future, we are committed to building on that momentum, ensuring that art continues to inspire creativity, dialogue and positive change in society. Lisa and Eleanor’s appointments strengthen our capacity to deliver that vision and deepen IMMA’s impact for audiences, artists and communities across Ireland and beyond.”

Lisa Fitzsimons brings more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across public cultural institutions and international organisations. She has worked at executive level with responsibility for strategy, communications, finance, governance, risk and organisational change across complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Since joining IMMA in January 2023, she has developed deep institutional knowledge, progressing from Acting Head of Audiences & Development to Strategy & Sustainability Lead, where she has been instrumental in developing and implementing IMMA’s five-year strategic plan and leading delivery of the museum’s flagship Earth Rising festival. Her approach to leadership is grounded in institution-building, translating strategic ambition into operational reality through strong systems, talented people, and disciplined delivery.

Responding to her appointment Fitzsimons said “IMMA is a remarkable organisation, with real clarity about its purpose and an ambitious vision for what that means, not just for art, but for Ireland’s cultural, social, and civic life. What excites me most about taking on this role is the talented team already here and the opportunity to help translate that vision into reality through the systems, partnerships, and strategic work that enable long-term institutional impact. As cultural infrastructure, IMMA plays an essential role across education, wellbeing, inclusion, and climate action. I feel genuinely privileged to help steward that responsibility in the coming years.”

With fifteen years’ experience in the cultural and heritage sector, Eleanor Paice has built a career leading visitor experience, operations, events, and retail across some of the UK’s most prominent historic houses and visitor attractions. She has a proven track record of managing large teams, delivering exceptional visitor experiences, and driving innovation across customer service, accessibility, and operational strategy. Her leadership combines a commitment to public engagement with extensive experience in safety, visitor experience, and organisational excellence, bringing a deep understanding of how to balance the needs of audiences, collections, and historic environments. Alongside a professional career, Eleanor has also served on the trustee boards of independent museums and as a governor at LVS Oxford, a specialist school for children and young people with autism, reflecting a longstanding commitment to governance, inclusion, and public service.

Responding to her appointment Paice said “I’m thrilled to be joining IMMA at such an exciting time for the museum, as it continues to grow its audiences and develop new ways of engaging people with contemporary art. Having spent my career creating welcoming and meaningful visitor experiences in heritage settings, I’m excited by the opportunity to bring that experience to a leading contemporary art institution that places creativity, accessibility, and public engagement at the heart of everything it does. I’m particularly looking forward to working with the IMMA team to ensure that every visitor feels welcomed, inspired, and connected to the museum and its programmes, while helping shape experiences that connect people with art in new and meaningful ways.”

13 July 2026

– ENDS –

For further information and images please contact:
Monica Cullinane E:[email protected] T: 086 2010023
Patrice Molloy E:[email protected] T: 086 2009957

 

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is proud to present Technologies of Peace: Art and Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989–2026), a speculative exhibition bringing together researchers, artists, thinkers, and curators from across Europe to critically examine one of the defining challenges of our time: the question of peace.

At a moment marked by ongoing wars, geopolitical instability, social fragmentation, and the constant circulation of conflict through media and culture, conflict is frequently aestheticised, analysed, and consumed. Peace, by contrast, is rarely afforded the same sustained attention. Yet it is precisely now amid escalating global tensions and deepening uncertainty that the complexity, fragility, and transformative potential of peace is asserted.

Drawing on artistic, political, and social perspectives across Europe, including Greece, Poland, Romania, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, UK, Kosovo, and Croatia, the exhibition features work by artists including Marina Abramović, Petrit Halilaj, Goshka Macuga, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Claudia Pagès Rabal, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Indrė Šerpytytė, and Slavs and Tatars. It considers peace not as a fixed condition or end point, but as an active process of negotiation, maintenance, and collective imagination. Within the context of the island of Ireland’s recent history, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 offers a powerful example of a landmark manifestation of peace. It is an ongoing process; one that continues to require care, compromise, and vigilance.

The exhibition uses five chapters to examine the outcomes and approaches: Technologies of Peace, Language & Translation, Trauma & Reverberation, Ecology & Architecture, and Imagining Futures. It Illustrates how cultural expression can act as a powerful tool for civic repair; and presents a hopeful and constructive counter-narrative, reaffirming Europe’s potential for critical reflection, solidarity, and transformation through the arts.

Participating artists include: Marina Abramović, Ileana Arnaoutou, Nika Autor, Aleksandar Battista Ilić in collaboration with Ivana Keser and Tomislav Gotovac, Alán Carrasco, Jasmina Cibic, Lana Čmajčanin, Fábio Colaço, Phil Collins, Rita Duffy, Petros Efstathiadis, Andrea Geyer, Igor Grubić, Petrit Halilaj, Anthony Haughey, Saskia Holmkvist, Sanja Iveković, Dragana Jurišić, Šejla Kamerić, Barbara Knežević, Siniša Labrović, Nicolas Lambouris, Latent Community, Manolis D. Lemos, Goshka Macuga, Emily McFarland, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Petros Moris, Locky Morris, Vlad Nancă, Eleni Odysseos, Claudia Pagès Rabal, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Karol Radziszewski, María Ruido, Edita Schubert, Driton Selmani, Indrė Šerpytytė, Slavs and Tatars, Mladen Stilinović, Kostis Velonis, and Vangelis Vlahos.

The IMMA permanent Collection forms a central part of the exhibition, with key works by Willie Doherty, Frances Hegarty, Sandra Johnston, Alastair MacLennan, Mairéad McClean, William McKeown, Paul Seawright, Anne Tallentire and Cathy Wilkes. Also included are works by Ursula Burke, Amanda Dunsmore, and Glenn Loughran participants in the Dwell Here Residency Programme at IMMA.

Living Canvas at IMMA, Europe’s largest digital outdoor art screen presented at IMMA by IPUT Real Estate, will feature film works by artists Marina Abramović, Nika Autor, Jasmina Cibic, Mairéad McClean, and Petros Moris.

The exhibition forms part of a major five-year research initiative led by IMMA exploring Technologies of Peace through exhibitions, artist residencies, symposia, co-commissions, research, and publications between 2025 and 2030. The programme examines the central role artistic practice and cultural experience play in healing societies, fostering reconciliation, and building a shared sense of identity and community.

Annie Fletcher, Director of IMMA, said: “At a moment when Europe is confronting profound political, social and cultural challenges, Technologies of Peace invites us to consider peace not as a fixed achievement, but as a continuous practice that must be nurtured, negotiated and renewed. Bringing together artists from across Europe whose work emerges from histories of conflict, transition and democratic spaces for reflection, dialogue and understanding. 

As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026, Technologies of Peace offers a timely opportunity to situate Ireland’s own experience of political transition, reconciliation, and peacebuilding within a wider European context. It highlights the shared histories and interconnected futures that bind European societies together, while recognising the different paths through which communities have navigated division, memory and change.”

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication, launching to coincide with an international Technologies of Peace symposium taking place 3 – 4 December 2026. An expanded research exhibition will follow in 2028 examining peace in the global context.

1 July 2026

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact:
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023
Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957

Additional Notes for Editors 

Exhibition details:
Technologies of Peace: Art and Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989 – 2026)
12 September 2026 – 9 May 2027
Admission free. Webpage: Technologies of Peace: Art and Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989 – 2026)

Opening Hours :
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 5.30pm
Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm
Sunday: 12noon – 5.30pm
Bank Holiday Mondays: 12noon – 5.30pm

 

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA) under its Transport for Ireland (TFI) brand, today Monday 22 June 2026, unveils a striking new mobile artwork bringing contemporary art to the streets of Dublin.

The artwork, titled Art in Motion: Routes and Roots, is created by artist Alberta Whittle and has been developed in collaboration with poet Dagogo Hart and community writers group The Poetry Vigilantes, part of Dublin 8’s Fatima Groups United.

The vibrant artwork wraps one of TFI’s buses, transforming the familiar public transport vehicle into a moving canvas. Across the bus the artwork displays fragments of an original poem created by The Poetry Vigilantes working with Whittle and Hart. The poetry is combined with imagery in Alberta Whittle’s signature style, featuring the hands of the community participants and yarrow, a perennial wildflower native to Ireland.

The Art in Motion: Routes and Roots bus will operate across several routes of the TFI network in Dublin, bringing a burst of creativity to the capital. Each day, thousands of passengers and many more who see the bus along the network will encounter art in a fresh and unexpected way. This collaboration highlights the power of partnership in making contemporary art a visible and accessible part of the city’s daily movement, reaching communities across Dublin.

Annie Fletcher, Director of IMMA, said: “It is incredibly exciting to see this IMMA bus take to the streets of Dublin. This radically public artwork tells a story about the lived experience of one of our city’s communities. It celebrates the power of collective voices, inspired by how public transport can connect our communities and create a sense of belonging through the familiar routes of our streets, shared memories of place and our journeys together”.

Art in Motion: Routes and Roots underscores IMMA’s commitment to expanding access to art and connecting with audiences beyond the Museum’s walls. Through this collaboration with Transport for Ireland (TFI), contemporary art becomes woven into the city’s everyday rhythm, bringing colour, language, and imagination to the streets of Dublin.

22 June 2026

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact:
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023
Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957

Additional Notes for Editors

About Alberta Whittle
B. 1980; Bridgetown Barbados; lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland. Barbadian-Scottish. Whittle’s multifaceted practice is preoccupied with developing a personal response to the legacies of the Atlantic slave trade, unpicking its connections to institutional racism, white supremacy and climate emergency in the present. Against an oppressive political background Whittle aims to foreground hope and engage with different forms of resistance. Whittle received her MFA from the Glasgow School of Art (2011); PhD at the University of Edinburgh (2024); and is currently a Research Associate at The University of Johannesburg. She has exhibited and performed in various solo and group shows internationally and represented Scotland in the 59th Venice Biennale (2022). She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Margaret Tait Award winner (2018/19); a Turner Bursary, Frieze Artist Award and Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award (2020); and Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists (2022).

About Dagogo Hart
Dagogo Hart is a Nigerian-Irish writer, poet, and theatre-maker based in Ireland. His work spans poetry, theatre, film, and education, rooted in performance but designed to resonate beyond the stage. He has featured on everything from TV to film and bar basements, led poetry workshops and showcases across Ireland and West Africa, and is author of Lantern Smoke, 2025, a children’s book with Gill Books. His acclaimed play MMANWU explores grief and cultural identity, while his new play PALMFIST continues his powerful interrogation of masculinity, violence, and vulnerability. Hart is also co-founder of WeAreGriot, a collection committed to platforming Black Irish voices through performance poetry, storytelling, and collaboration.

About Fatima Groups United
Fatima Groups United Family Resource Centre represents residents and community projects in Fatima and Herberton, Dublin 8. Since 1995, FGU has supported the physical and social regeneration of the area. FGU provides services in health, wellbeing, education, employment, arts, childcare, counselling, family support, information, advice, and advocacy. Fatima Poetry Vigilantes is a poetry group organised by Fatima Groups United. They won the Creative Lives Ireland Award in 2022 for Dance Til Dán, a film celebrating community through poetry and dance. They organise frequent Poetry Cafés and Poetry Trains.

About National Transport Authority / Transport For Ireland
The National Transport Authority (NTA) is a statutory non-commercial body, which operates under the aegis of the Department of Transport. Established in 2009, the NTA’s core function is around the planning, development and funding of sustainable transport modes, public transport and active travel on a national basis. NTA’s remit also extends to the regulation of commercial bus services, as well as the Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) sector and vehicle clamping.

Transport for Ireland (TFI) is the public-facing brand of the NTA, used to deliver and promote Ireland’s integrated public transport network across bus, rail, TFI Luas and active travel services.

About IMMA
Founded in 1991, IMMA is Ireland’s National Cultural Institution for Modern and Contemporary Art located in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Its vibrant, bold, and diverse programme comprises exhibitions, commissions, and event-based projects by leading Irish and international artists, as well as a rich engagement and learning programme which together provides audiences of all ages the opportunity to connect with contemporary art and unlock their creativity. IMMA is also the home of the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art of over 4,700 artworks by Irish and international artists. IMMA makes this national resource available through exhibitions at IMMA and other venues nationally and internationally, engagement and learning programmes and digital resources. imma.ie

For the first time, five of Ireland’s collecting national cultural institutions have come together for an event on The Economic Impact, Value, and Potential of the National Collecting Institutions to publicly highlight and explore their collective socio-economic impact.

This exciting new initiative has been spearheaded by the Chairpersons of the Boards of the National Museum of Ireland, the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Library of Ireland, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and Crawford Art Gallery.

Representatives from the NCIs and stakeholders from across the cultural sector gathered in Dublin this morning at the National Library of Ireland for the event, which featured a keynote address by Katja Iversen, CEO, Museum for the United Nations – UN Live.

Moderated by Dr Frances Ruane, the event explored the importance and value of culture in the context of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the value of culture ‘beyond GDP’, cross-cultural connections, the ‘soft power’ of culture, and the contribution of collecting national cultural institutions to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The event marks a collective first step towards quantifying the economic value of the five institutions, and NCIs more widely. Within that is a commitment to further collaboration and research by the NCIs to better understand, measure and articulate their full societal value beyond traditional economic and cultural tourism metrics.

This includes how national cultural institutions support democratic engagement, strengthen reflections on identities, foster wellbeing and social cohesion, and build long-term societal resilience, aligning with EU priorities.

To support this work, the chairpersons of the five collecting national cultural institutions commissioned an initial evidence-based assessment of their value which was published today in a report on ‘The Economic and Social Impact of Ireland’s Collecting Institutions: Beginning a New Conversation’ by Fitzpatrick Associates Economic Consultants.

As a starting point, the report reviewed existing data and published research to provide an initial assessment of the direct and indirect economic contribution of the five NCIs. The report’s analysis suggests that in 2024, the five collecting NCIs together:

– Generated total economic output of approx. €209m
– Contributed approximately €135m to national Gross Value Added*
– Supported approximately 2,300 full-time equivalent jobs (both within and outside of the cultural sector).
– Attracted over 3.5 million in-person visitors

The review demonstrated that the wider societal benefits derived from engaging with the national cultural institutions and their collections are under-measured in Ireland. The report therefore provides a starting point, rather than conclusion, for further research required to measure the deeper return in social value generated by cultural engagement beyond the benefits of visiting the institutions – whether in terms of health and wellbeing, education outcomes, quality of life or fostering social cohesion.

Professor Cathal O’Donoghue, Chair of the Board of the National Museum of Ireland speaking on behalf of the five National Cultural Institutions, said: “The national collecting institutions play a pivotal role in strengthening social connection, supporting educational outcomes, building resilience and improving the health and wellbeing of communities, particularly during periods of flux and challenge.

“As Ireland prepares for the EU Presidency, it is timely to reflect on how our cultural organisations evidence and articulate fully their contribution to society beyond economic measure. Future conversations will need to better reflect the intrinsic value of our collections and the wider societal benefits they bring to people’s lives in very real terms. Today is the first step in a broader conversation about how we move forward collectively to achieve that.

“As we continue to collect, preserve and present our collections to the public, this is an opportunity to lead out on a deeper conversation and collaborative research effort that strengthens the evidence base for policymakers, informs our own programming and measures our future impacts with certainty.”  

Katja Iversen, CEO of the Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, said:“At a time of growing polarization, uncertainty and social fragmentation, culture has a vital role to play. This event demonstrates the significant economic and societal value generated by Ireland’s national collecting institutions. To me, it also points to something larger. Collections are much more than repositories of memory – they are resources for the future. Culture and collections can help people connect across generations and differences, see themselves as part of a larger shared story, and create new ones. In doing so, they can help foster trust and belonging, expand our collective imagination, and help build the more resilient and inclusive societies we need for the future.” 

Read the report: The Economic and Social Impact of Ireland’s Collecting Institutions: Beginning a New Conversation

 

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is pleased to welcome Dr Matisse Huiskens as a Research Ireland Postdoctoral Research Fellow, marking a significant step in the expansion of museum‑based research and the commencement of a major new research collaboration between IMMA and University College Dublin (UCD).

Dr Huiskens’s fellowship is funded through Research Ireland’s €4.4 million Enterprise Fellowship Programme, which supports 46 enterprise‑engaged research projects nationwide across all disciplines. IMMA is proud to be the only art museum among the enterprise partners selected under the programme’s Partnership Stream, which supports full‑time research undertaken in close collaboration between higher education institutions and enterprise partners.

The two‑year research project, Unpacking the Paul O’Neill Archive at IMMA: Nationhood, Counterpublics, and the Curating of Contemporary Art in Globalising Ireland since 1991, has been awarded €97,357 in Research Ireland funding and will be based at IMMA, in partnership with UCD.

The project centres on the Paul O’Neill Archive, acquired by IMMA for its permanent Collection in 2025. The Archive comprises a substantial body of material spanning several decades of O’Neill’s international work as an artist, curator, educator, researcher, and writer, including publications, research and teaching materials, exhibition and project ephemera, and artworks.

Widely recognised as one of the foremost research‑oriented curators and scholars of curatorial practice, O’Neill’s work has played a pivotal role in shaping contemporary curating, public art and exhibition histories internationally. The Archive is regarded as an invaluable resource for students, researchers, artists and curators, and for anyone with an interest in international curatorial theory and practice from the 1990s onwards.

Through the systematic examination, interpretation and digitisation of the Archive, Dr Huiskens’s research will explore how curatorial practice has contributed to the formation of cultural counterpublics, and how these practices reflect and shape Ireland’s changing sense of nationhood since the opening of IMMA in 1991. Drawing on archival research, new fieldwork, and interviews with O’Neill’s extensive international network, the project positions the Archive as an active research infrastructure rather than a static historical record. Through talks, debates and public programmes at IMMA, the research will examine how curatorial practice can generate spaces that challenge dominant social norms and contribute to broader discussions on self‑determination, globalisation and cultural identity.

Welcoming Dr Matisse Huiskens, Annie Fletcher, Director of IMMA, said:

“Innovative and interdisciplinary research is now taking place across IMMA: through our research‑led exhibitions; our extensive programme of work with colleges and third-level institutions; our residency programme; our pioneering work in art and brain health as part of IMMA Horizons; and increasingly through the development and activation of our Collection and Archives.

The interpretation and expansion of artist and curatorial archives are central to IMMA’s development at this moment. Archives such as the Paul O’Neill Archive are not static repositories; they are active research infrastructures that allow us to understand, contextualise and reflect on contemporary artistic practice in Ireland and internationally. Through projects such as this Research Ireland Enterprise Fellowship, we are building both the intellectual content and the organisational frameworks required to establish IMMA as a Global Learning and Research Centre.”

Dr Huiskens will be based at IMMA and UCD from May 2026 for two years. He holds a doctorate from the University of Amsterdam, jointly awarded with the University of Salerno, and previously worked as a Lecturer in modern and contemporary art at Utrecht University. His recent curatorial work includes an exhibition on the rediscovered Dutch modernist movement Liga Nieuw Beelden at Atelier Volten, Amsterdam.

This is the fifth Research Ireland Enterprise Fellowship following the innovative research projects by Dr Nathan O’Donnell (2018-2019); Dr Stephen O’Neill (2021-2023); Dr John Wilkins (2022-2024); and Dr Alessia Cargnelli (2024-2026). The fellowship builds on IMMA’s expanding role as a hub of research and innovation, demonstrated in recent years through:

• Major research‑led exhibitions, including Self Determination: A Global Perspective and Technologies of Peace: Art and Transition in Contemporary Europe (1989 – 2026), the first major public manifestation of a four‑year research programme examining art, conflict, peace and transition.
• A strategic focus on collecting, building and activating artist and curatorial archives, recognising archives as vital research resources that deepen the study and interpretation of contemporary practice in Ireland and internationally.
• Dwell Here, a research‑led residency programme supporting artists and researchers to undertake sustained inquiry through IMMA’s collections, archives, site and urgent contemporary questions.
• IMMA Horizons, a pioneering initiative positioning IMMA at the forefront of the interdisciplinary field of art and health, with a particular focus on art and brain health.
• The Museum’s ambition to establish IMMA as a Global Learning and Research Centre, embedding research across exhibitions, collections, archives, residencies, education and public engagement.

By bringing together academic research, museum practice and public engagement, the Research Ireland Enterprise Fellowship will generate new ways of understanding Ireland’s contemporary cultural history, while reinforcing IMMA’s role as a leading centre for archive‑based scholarship, curatorial research and interdisciplinary inquiry, nationally and internationally.

27 May 2026

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact:
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023
Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957

Additional Notes for Editors

IMMA Talks

Thurs 25 June / 6pm / People’s Pavilion, IMMA

Paul O’Neill is joined by renowned artist AA Bronson to discuss collective practice, artistic self-organisation, his roles in General Idea, Art Metropole and Printed Matter, and their impacts on contemporary art and artist-run culture. This rare discussion with AA Bronson will survey his enduring influence as an artist, healer, curator, educator and ally.

Presented in association with the Paul O’Neill Archive at IMMA, and as part of Pallas Projects/Studios 30th Anniversary programme, with the support of Dublin City Council and The Arts Council.

This IMMA Talk is part of Dublin by Dusk series of late evening events at IMMA. Refreshments will be available after the talk.

Admission free, book online at imma.ie

 

Exhibitions, Live Performances, Screenings, Talks, Music, Workshops & more!

IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, is excited to launch Summer at IMMA 2026, a vibrant programme of free events for all ages, that includes exhibitions, live performances, screenings, music, talks, workshops, tours and more, taking place across IMMA’s site from June to August 2026.

This summer IMMA presents a curated series of bespoke events including a live performance of RESET by Alberta Whittle with choreographer and performer Mele Broomes; andSalarium by Ruth E Lyons that includes a screening of The Sea Inside Us, 2025, alongside a live performance of the film’s score.

Summer at IMMA offers a wide range of events for all interests, including workshops exploring Art and Ecology, Sound and Listening, Drawing and Stitching, and Art and Wellbeing. Highlights include a workshop examining the Afro‑Atlantic histories, politics, and everyday practices of headwraps; and a drawing workshop examining the history of the Sheela-na-gig in Ireland alongside the paintings of Cecilia Vicuña.

IMMA celebrates Pride in June with a fun series of events that includes an inclusive Irish Dancing and Ceili workshop and a playful zine‑making workshop exploring queer expression through collage and radical storytelling.

IMMA will take part in Dublin by Dusk a new city-wide initiative that invites you to experience Dublin city as it stays open late on the last Thursday of every month. Launching on 28 May IMMA’s first event will take you on a musical trip through the North inner city with the screening of the multi award winning documentary North Circular directed by Luke MacManus, with live cello overture performed by acclaimed cellist Kevin Murphy.

Audience favourites return this summer including Music in the Courtyard, yoga classes, biodiversity tours, family art workshops and late evening screenings.

There is something for everyone to enjoy, see our programme highlights below. For more details visit imma.ie

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

– See five exhibitions over the summer months – Reverse Migration, a Poetic Journey by Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña; Sunflowers by Lebanese sound artist Tarek Atoui; Art as Agency showcasing IMMA’s Permanent Collection and Fisherwoman, Fisherwoman bringing together the work of Camillie Souter & Alberta Whittle.

– Live performances of RESET by Alberta Whittle performed by Mele Broomes takes place on 21 June to celebrate the summer solstice. RESET is a response by Whittle to the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, the global pandemic and climate emergency. Mele Broomes is an award-winning artist, renowned for her performances that blend dance, sound, and striking poetics.

– On 25 June join IMMA’s Dwell Here residents for an open evening to learn more about their developing studio practices. Take a stroll along Studio Street where you’ll find residents Addoley Dzegede, Glenn Loughran, Paul O’Brien, Samir Mahmood, Atoosa Pour Hosseini, Xiao Zhiyu, Roots For the Future Collective, Lorena Moreno Vera, Jaana Kokko, and Shivanjani Lal.

– Taking place in July, the project Salarium by Ruth E Lyons features the screening of her debut film The Sea Inside Us, 2025, made in collaboration with Colm Hogan. A live performance of the film’s score takes place on 19 July featuring compositions by Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, together with additional newly composed works.

– Living Canvas at IMMA, Europe’s largest digital outdoor art screen presented at IMMA by IPUT Real Estate, will feature film works by artists Sam Jury, Alberta Whittle, Ruth E Lyons, Farah Al Qasimi, Emre Hüner, Jane Jin Kaisen, amongst others. Highlights include a guest curated screening by artist Sarah Durcan featuring films by Joan Jonas, Deborah Stratman and Ana Vaz from 25 June; and a collaboration with the GAZE Film Festival in August. The programme includes one-off film screenings on selected evenings throughout the summer.

– IMMA Talks summer programme asks urgent questions about how artists organise, collaborate, and sustain creative communities today. Highlights include a keynote conversation with legendary artist AA Bronson and curator, writer and artist Paul O’Neill on 25 June – presented with Pallas Projects/Studios as part of their 30^th Anniversary celebrations, in conjunction with the Paul O’Neill Archive at IMMA. Bronson has played a pivotal role in shaping international discourse around artist-led practice, publishing, queer cultural production, and alternative institutional models.

– IMMA Horizons provides creative experiences and events for adults to meet and explore art together. Highlights include an Art and Ecology workshop series in response to Ceilia Vicuña’s exhibition; a two-day workshop Drawing with Thread that investigates identity, feminism, and the psychological architecture of recovery; and the return of our much loved In the Moment art and mindfulness workshop series.

– A variety of community events and gatherings include the launch of a community partnership with Achieve with Aghogho, a global organisation supporting ambitious students to thrive, the event Crossing Disciplines: A Story of Skills, Curiosity and Change, explores the value of transferable skills across personal and professional development. The 5^th edition of the popular Sarau Sessions, inspired by a Brazilian tradition of intimate, home‑hosted gatherings, transforms IMMA’s People’s Pavilion as a site of shared togetherness.

– IMMA’s popular Music in the Courtyard series returns with a dynamic programme of free live performances in IMMA’s stunning Courtyard. Enjoy live music in a relaxed, open-air setting throughout the summer.

The IMMA Café Fruition, which includes an indoor space and outdoor van, is open all summer for coffee, lunch and treats!

For further information and images please contact:
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] T: 086 2010023
Patrice Molloy E: [email protected] T: 086 2009957