IMMA announces two new appointments to the senior management team

IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) today (2 March, 2023) announced the appointment of two new members to the Senior Management team – Sheena Barrett as Head of Research & Learning, and Mary Cremin as Head of Programming.

Welcoming the appointments IMMA Director Annie Fletcher said “The future for IMMA feels really bright with these two appointments. I couldn’t think of a more dynamic addition of intelligence, energy, and strategic thinking to our already brilliant and passionate team. In their individual ways both Mary and Sheena have proven through incredible careers and innovative practices how art is pivotal to our society, and we can’t wait to work with them in imagining an even bigger and more ambitious Irish Museum of Modern Art.” 

Sheena Barrett joined Dublin City Council in 2006 as Assistant Arts Officer and Curator to lead the development of the LAB Gallery as a critical platform for emerging arts practice in Ireland. Having previously held roles at Breaking Ground Public Art Commissioning Programme, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland, she has extensive curatorial experience, supporting artists and audiences through ambitious public programmes and commissioning. Barrett is part of the curatorial team for Living Canvas, Europe’s largest digital screen for cultural use developed by IPUT in partnership with Dublin City Council. She a founding member of MONTO Arts and Dublin Placemaking Network and part of the programme team for MA Art Research Collaboration at IADT, Dun Laoghaire.

Responding to her appointment Barrett said “I am very excited to join IMMA as Head of Research & Learning at a time when IMMA’s new strategy centre’s the role of learning, engagement and research at the core of the museum’s work. Museums can play a critical role in fostering curiosity and creating brave spaces for hope and shared experiences. My experience at the LAB foregrounded practices by artists based in Ireland at critical moments in the development of their practice along with innovative research and engagement partnerships and I look forward to working to support opportunities and connections at a local and global level.”

Mary Cremin has been Director of Void Gallery, Derry since 2017, where she has supported artists to produce and present ground-breaking new works, including commissioning the artist Helen Cammock’s Turner Prize winning film The Long Note. Cremin was the Commissioner and Curator of the Irish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with artist Eva Rothchild in 2019. Working with organisations such as the Afghan Visual Arts & History Collective and Beirut Art Residency, her program focusses on revealing new narratives and histories that address and challenge the disparities that exist within Western culture, her program acts as a curatorial corrective. Her areas of research are embedded in ecology, ethics and is informed by politically and socially engaged practice. She is a co-founder of the North South Visual Art network, an advocacy group for the visual arts sector encompassing both North and South of Ireland. She is currently chair of Ormston House, Limerick.

Responding to her appointment Cremin said ”I am excited to take up the role as Head of Programming at IMMA. I am honoured to work with the Director, Annie Fletcher, and the team at IMMA at this exciting moment in its history and to create a dynamic and exciting programme that actively engages with a national and international community and responds to and is relevant to our times.”

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For further information and images please contact:

Monica Cullinane E:[email protected]

Patrice Molloy E:[email protected]