IMMA launches programme for 2014
An exhibition celebrating the work of Irish artist Patrick Scott which brings together the most comprehensive representation of this remarkable artist’s 75 year long career; two major international retrospective exhibitions by acclaimed Indian artist Sheela Gowda and renowned Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica; a fascinating exhibition, Trove, selected by Irish artist Dorothy Cross showcasing the extraordinary depth of the National Collections of Ireland; two exciting new projects by Irish artists Isabel Nolan and Duncan Campbell; exhibitions and projects that bring leading examples of international artists work to Ireland including artists Haroon Mirza, Mike Kelley, Linder Sterling and Jeremy Deller; Light Rhythms an interactive exhibition for families and young people; are just some of the exciting programme highlights taking place throughout 2014 at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and announced today (Tuesday 11 February) by IMMA’s Director, Sarah Glennie.
Alongside IMMA’s programme, and following on from the success of the reopening weekend in October 2013, IMMA will present three open weekends in 2014. IMMA looks forward to welcoming everyone to experience exhibitions, family activities, workshops, talks by curators and artists, and more. The weekends will take place in Spring on 5 April, in Summer 18 and 19 July, and in Winter on 7 and 8 November.
Commenting on IMMA’s programme for 2014, Sarah Glennie said: “I am delighted to launch IMMA’s 2014 programme on the occasion of the opening of this major exhibition of the work of Patrick Scott. Following our very successful reopening programme IMMA moves into 2014 with an ambitious programme of exhibitions and projects including two major international retrospectives and new works by leading Irish and international artists. We are particularly excited to be bringing the work of Hélio Oiticica to Ireland for the first time – we are sure that audiences new to his work will find much to enjoy in this expansive participatory exhibition; and we are delighted to be working with Dorothy Cross and our colleagues in the National Cultural Institutions on Trove, a unique project that will bring together Cross’ distinctive vision and sensibility with the extraordinary resource that is our National Collections. As ever we will have a very full programme of talks, events and activities that will encourage audiences of all ages to become involved and discover more about our exhibitions. We hope that our audiences will find plenty to enjoy over the coming year.”
Also happening at IMMA in 2014:

• IMMA is taking a new approach to exhibiting the IMMA Collection, this will involve the presentation of works in a more modular form, allowing for individual changes to displays in order to increase the public’s exposure to a greater variety of work. The Collection displays will frequently respond to the underlying themes identified in IMMA’s wider programme, for example Op and Kinetic works from the Gordon Lambert Trust donation will be shown to coincide with the Hélio Oiticica exhibition. As new works are acquired by IMMA, they will be shown in rotating displays, with the aim of giving visitors an insight into how the IMMA Collection is being developed. These new acquisitions may be shown in dialogue with works already in the collection, allowing for an exploration of shared artistic concerns. Availing of the unique opportunity of artists living and working onsite IMMA will continue to invite artists to respond to the Collection – whether that results in a work made in response to an artwork in the IMMA Collection, a curated project, or deals with the idea of collecting itself.

• IMMA’s studio’s are being made available as a resource to visual arts organisations across Ireland, the residency programme is developing partnerships and supporting new projects, these include Eva Kotatkova and the Project Arts Centre; Priscila Fernandes with Temple Bar Galleries + Studios; EVA International in Limerick, and a visiting Research Fellow in colloboration with the National College of Art and Design. An international visiting curators project is also being developed, IMMA and the Project Arts Centre, are bringing prominent international curators to Dublin for focused studio visits with emerging and established artists working in Ireland.

• Following on from the successful family exhibition Action all Areas, IMMA is delighted to announce that in 2014 two further interactive family exhibitions will be presented in the Project Spaces coinciding with school holidays in February and the autumn, as well as a number of family focused interventions for our seasonal open weekends. Opening on the 15 February Light Rhythms invites families and young people to discover how artists work with light, sound and line. The focus for these exhibitions and activities is to support and enhance families and young people’s experience at IMMA. IMMA’s new Project Spaces present a variety of exhibitions, interventions, events and discussions that reflect contemporary art practice and consider how a museum engages with its Collection, artists, curators and visitors. Activities in the Project Spaces will be announced throughout the year.

• Throughout 2014 IMMA will continue to present its extensive programme of public talks and events. Highlights include an international symposium on Eileen Gray presented in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou on 15 and 16 April. The symposium will bring together acclaimed historians, critics, architects, collectors, and some of Gray’s close working associates to present papers that explore the broader impact of Gray’s legacy. In Spring IMMA and the Goethe Institut will present LUNCH BYTES, an exciting new series of critical discussions that explore art and digital culture. A range of international experts on this subject will offer their perspectives on the impact of the internet on visual arts practice.

• IMMA continues to work with partners nationally to provide access to the IMMA Collection through loans and partnerships; projects in 2014 include the exhibition 474: document | work | space a collaboration with the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), in The Drawing Project, Dún Laoghaire, from 27 March to 3 April; a collaboration with the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, The Art of the Great Book of Ireland, from 10 April to 13 July; an exhibition by Nick Miller which will include a selection of Miller’s work from the IMMA Collection at Arthouse, Stradbally, in July and August; and an exhibition from the IMMA Collection, Sculpture & Installation from the IMMA Collection, at the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio, Banbridge and the High Lanes Gallery, Drogheda, from 5 September to 22 November.

•  Following the launch of its Collection Online in 2013, IMMA will continue to expand its digital projects. To compliment this year’s exhibition programme, a selection of recordings from IMMA’s extensive talk’s archive, on-going since 1991, alongside a selection of current talks, will be made available via the IMMA website throughout 2014. For the Patrick Scott exhibition a detailed timeline of Scott’s biography with images from selected archival material has been assembled and digitised and will be accessible online on data screens within the exhibition and through IMMA Collection Online and on the IMMA website.

• The Education and Community Programme is at the core of everything that IMMA does. This year, despite funding challenges, it continues to create programmes that engage all sectors of the public including schools and colleges, children and young people, families and adults; through guided tours, talks, lectures and seminars; gallery and studio-based workshops and artists’ projects. IMMA invites everyone to enjoy its Exhibitions and Collection by looking, discussing and making.

For further information and images please contact Monica Cullinane or Patrice Molloy at Tel: +353 1 612 9900; Email: [email protected]
11 February 2014