10 April 2018
Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan T.D. today announced a €1.2 billion investment in the culture, heritage and language infrastructure of Ireland as part of the Government’s Project Ireland 2040. Over the period 2018 to 2027, the Government intends to invest €460m in a significant number of capital projects in our National Cultural Institutions, including IMMA.
Commenting on today’s announcement IMMA Chairman David Harvey said; “We welcome the announcement by An Taoiseach Leo Varadakar and Minsiter Madigan that a capital budget of €36 million will be made available to IMMA as part of Investing in our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018 – 2027, published yesterday by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht as part of Project Ireland 2040. High quality infrastructure is crucial for a vibrant culture sector and we look forward to actively contributing to the vision of Ireland as a creative, innovative and culturally attended society through the delivery of a world class art experience at IMMA.
Our current strategy outlines a vision for the 26 acres of IMMA as an open campus of ideas and shared knowledge, deeply embedded in its home in the historic Royal Hospital Kilmainham. A key part of this strategy is the building of a new, innovative Collections Centre at IMMA. This would not only allow IMMA to create the conditions necessary to keep the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art safe for future generations, but would also create new ways for the public to encounter this national treasure. A Collection is not just a series of physical objects but also a series of histories and relationships that represent a rich resource of knowledge for the nation. IMMA therefore defines its Collection as art works, archive and over twenty five years of programme content including talks, texts and correspondence from some of Ireland’s most important contemporary artists. If made accessible this combined knowledge holds great potential for a wide range of audiences.”
Interim Director Moling Ryan further noted; “A key capital objective of IMMA’s current strategy is the development of a new Collections Centre that will create new forms of physical and digital access to IMMA’s Collection, the Collection Archive and IMMA’s Programme Archive. Envisioned as both a new building and new online space, the Collections Centre will create a home for the Collection on IMMA’s grounds where it will provide access to the public through visible storage, media banks of digital works, accessible photographic and print collections and flexible learning spaces that will facilitate the Collection as a learning tool for all ages. This building will also house IMMA’s complete Collection and Programme Archives, creating a reflective reading and research space for the general public, students, artists and national and international researchers.
The new Collections Centre will create an extensive point of access for the IMMA Collection that will extend beyond the galleries. This access will be enhanced through a parallel programme of digitisation of IMMA’s resources that finds new ways to bring the context of art works to the public. This will be delivered through a dynamic web platform that shares art works – and the rich stories and knowledge behind those works and their artists – through innovative digital applications.
Delivering on this ambition will create a truly significant archive and history of contemporary Irish Art practice for Irish citizens, and to further the story of Irish art, and Irish artists, internationally.”
Investing in Our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018 – 2027 is a ten year plan setting out the Government’s commitment for capital investment of almost €1.2 billion in Ireland’s culture, language and heritage. Minister Madigan was joined at a special forum to launch the plan by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, Minister for Finance & Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, and Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, Joe McHugh.
Speaking at the launch Minister Madigan said:“I am delighted to launch this historic capital investment plan in our culture, language and heritage. This level of investment will transform our cultural and heritage infrastructure right across the country. It is also an important statement for this and future generations: our culture, language and heritage are fundamental to all of our lives. They affect our education, our public buildings and public spaces. They impact the relationship between the citizen and the State, and the relationship of citizens to each other. They are about our identity and our values. Cultural infrastructure provides a home for all of us, a space for all us to meet, to exchange ideas, to create the new, to imagine what could be. With this announcement, I am delighted that we have delivered on an important pillar of the Creative Ireland Programme. ”