The Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht, Catherine Martin T.D., yesterday (Thursday 5 September), launched EARTH RISING, a dynamic three-day festival dedicated to addressing the climate crisis through art, creativity, and community. From Friday 20 to Sunday 22 September 2024, in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, EARTH RISING will transform IMMA’s grounds into a vibrant hub of free events designed to inspire collective action towards a sustainable future. The festival offers a rich programme of talks, exhibitions, workshops, outdoor screenings, food, artists salon, music and an Eco Fair, all free to the public.  

Speaking at the launch, Minister Catherine Martin, said “EARTH RISING is an important national event that aligns with Ireland’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis through culture and community engagement. The climate crisis requires a unified response, and EARTH RISING serves as a platform where community can come together to share ideas, collaborate, and take collective action. It is through community engagement that sustainable change can be achieved and it is this collective spirit that strengthens community bonds and amplifies the impact of individual actions”.  

Annie Fletcher, Director of IMMA said “The original vision for EARTH RISING was simple: to create a space where art meets activism, where the public can engage with artists and thinkers to explore how we might build a more sustainable and thriving future. Today, it has become a vibrant creative assembly for everyone who cares deeply about the future of our planet. This festival not only highlights the urgency of the climate crisis but also demonstrates how creativity can inspire action and foster a shared sense of responsibility.” 

The festival programme offers a diverse array of events, including over 100 artists and collaborators who will showcase their work via performances, installations, screenings, workshops, tours, and a talks programme supported by Research Ireland. Programme highlights include an installation and talk by Sakiya, a progressive academy for experimental knowledge production and sharing around local farming in Ramallah, Palestine; a climate comedy workshop with Anne Gill and Diane O’Connor; speed dating to find your ‘Soil Mate’ to connect garden owners with gardenless growers; Project Dandelion workshops hosted by the Mary Robinson Centre; a climate-based mixed reality experience by Andrew McSweeney; a spoken word poetry event focusing on nature, ecology and climate taking place on Culture Night, to name a few!  

Special collaborations include a Slow Tour Concert brought to IMMA by the Goethe Institut Ireland featuring musician LIE NING who is travelling across Europe by train and ferry, as part of a resource-efficient concert tour. Also, a discussion exploring the living national artwork The Forest That Won’t Forget which evolved from a collaboration between artist’s John Conway and Fiona Whelan and 221+ (organisation supporting individuals directly affected by failures in the CervicalCheck Screening programme) and Hometree.  

Creative Ireland is supporting several projects including Demolition Takedown, a large-scale installation situated in IMMA’s Courtyard that creatively displays the scale of waste. The installation aims to encourage action on reducing construction and demolition waste in Ireland. Creative Ireland also supports the Purpose Disruptors: The Good Life 2030, an initiative that invites the advertising industry and the public to envision a future where sustainability and well-being take centre stage, and Tern the Tide an initiative by artists Marie Gordon and Laura McMahon to raise awareness of the NSPW Little Tern conservation work along the Dublin-Rosslare Railway Line.  

The festival programme is available on the EARTH RISING FESTIVAL APP, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.   

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS  

EARTH RISING EXHIBITON: Take a Breath is a major exhibition that provides an historical, social, political, and personal examination of breathing – why we breathe, how we breathe and what we breathe – exploring themes of decolonisation, environmental racism, indigenous language, the impact of war on the environment and breath as meditation. Guided tours of Take a Breath will take place during the festival.  

EARTH RISING Artists – Over 100 artists and collaborators will showcase their work across the weekend. Highlights include outdoor art installations including a willow installation Live and Let Rot by Ellen Harrold, and Glassophere a glass sculpture addressing the global water crisis by Claire Halpin and Madeleine Hellier. A dance performance Body’s in Trouble; moth releasing events with nocturnal field recordings made onsite from Sarah Rose; and Fuinneamh Community Drum will host workshops for all ages on their 14 foot drum in the meadow. Upcycling and recycling workshops along with nature themed memory and board games for kids, foraging, hedgerow planting, a Compost Carnival and much more!  

This year EARTH RISING presents an Artists Salon that brings climate action artists and scientists together to learn about their ideas, how they make their work and the different approaches they take to address the issues of our time.  

EARTH RISING TALKS – IMMA Talks programme for EARTH RISING brings together leading thinkers and makers and offers a platform for thought, provocation and exchange, on how to rebuild systems of regeneration, sustainability and care, in a climate changed world. From Land Rights, Health, and Food to Migration, and restoring ancient relationships with forests and woodlands, this gathering brings together a diverse set of practices working nationally and globally, to foster solidarity and shared responsibility in protecting and repairing a climate-changed world.  

Speakers include Roland Verquez (Professor of Post/Decolonial Theories and Literatures, the University of Amsterdam); Françoise Vergès (Antiracist Feminist Activist, Co-founder of the Collective Decolonize the Arts); Sharae Deckard (Associate Professor, World Literature, UCD); Nadine El-Enany (Writer, Teacher, Poet, Professor of Law, University of Kent, UK); Ursula Biemann (Swiss Artist, Theorist, Forest Mind); Pippa Marland (author of Ecocriticism and the Island: Readings from the British-Irish Archipelago, UK); Sahar Qawasmi (Sakiya Residency – Palestine); Evie Kenny (host of RTE’s Ecolution podcast); Islander architects (Laura Carroll & Ciarán Molumby); Susannah Hagan (Author of Revolution? Architecture and the Anthropocene, 2022, and Professor University of Westminster, London) and many others. 

EARTH RISING FOOD PROGRAMME – Jennie Moran will host a convivial exchange of ideas, skills and knowledge around food where we will rethink our food practices over food demonstrations, talks and presentations. The weekend kicks off with a Taste of the African Diaspora, an evening of conversation and culinary delights to celebrate Culture Night. Weekend highlights include keynote speaker Colin Sage on Food citizenship; a soil workshop for families with Dr Aga Soil Scientist; a talk by artist and bee-keeper Anthony Freeman O’Brien; a panel discussion on Food and Empathy; Food and Storytelling with Ahmad Salah from Bethlehem Palestinian Restaurant; a discussion with Farming for Nature; and an event and workshops by the Louth Urban Food Sanctuary.

EARTH RISING ECO FAIR – Explore the Eco Fair where sustainability meets creativity! The Eco Fair showcases a diverse array of eco-conscious vendors committed to a greener future. Discover unique, sustainable products – from organic skincare and ethical fashion to upcycled home goods – that prioritise circularity and regeneration, all while connecting with like-minded individuals passionate about protecting our planet. The Eco Fair is more than just a marketplace; it’s a celebration of innovation and a call to action for a better tomorrow.  

All events and experiences at EARTH RISING are free of charge, ensuring the festival is accessible to all. However, booking in advance may be required for specific workshops and events. For updates and further details, visit www.imma.ie.  

ENDS  

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

 

Additional Notes for Editors  

EARTH RISING Festival Details

Admission: Free     

Dates: Friday 20 – Sunday 22 September 2024    

Festival Times:
Friday 20 September: 5pm – 9pm
Saturday 21 September: 10am – 7pm
Sunday 22 September: 10am – 7pm

Festival App: The festival programme is available on the EARTH RISING FESTIVAL APP  

Download from App Store (Apple iOS): Earth Rising on the App Store (apple.com) 

Goggle Play (Android): Earth Rising – Apps on Google Play

Webpage: EARTH RISING IMMA webpage 

Festival Partners: Collaborations and partnerships remain at the heart of Earth Rising 2024. IMMA is proud to work with partners including Creative Ireland, The Mary Robinson Centre, Taighde Éireann | Research Ireland, Dublin Volunteer Centre, Scouting Ireland, EcoUNESCO, Spunout.ie, IPUT Real Estate Dublin, Native Events, DCU Centre for Climate, Goethe Institute, and Technical University Dublin. 

  

 

 

IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) presents When the body says Yes, an immersive installation by Dutch artist melanie bonajo opening on Friday 26 July 2024. melanie bonajo (they/them), is a queer non-binary Dutch artist, filmmaker, sexological bodyworker, and somatic sex coach and educator. The video installation, originally commissioned by the Mondriaan Fund for the Biennale Arte 2022, is part of the artist’s ongoing research into the current status of intimacy in our increasingly alienating, commodity-driven world. For bonajo, touch can be a powerful remedy for the modern epidemic of loneliness.

Through their videos, performances, photographs and installations, bonajo examines current conundrums of co-existence in crippling capitalistic systems, and address themes of eroding intimacy and isolation in an increasingly sterile, technological world.

They research how technological advances and commodity-based pleasures increase feelings of alienation, removing a sense of belonging in an individual, and their works present anti-capitalist methods to reconnect, explore sexualities, intimacies and feelings. Their experimental documentaries often explore communities living or working on the margins of society, either through illegal means or cultural exclusion, and the paradoxes inherent to ideas of comfort with a strong sense for community, equality, and body-politics.

bonajo represented with When the body says Yes The Netherlands at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 and worked with a curatorial team consisting of Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, Geir Haraldseth and Soraya Pol. The scenography for the installation, both at the Venice Biennale and in subsequent iterations, including at IMMA, has been developed in collaboration with Théo Demans.

melanie bonajo was nominated for the Nam June Paik Award (2018) and the Prix de Rome (2017) and won the IFFR Tiger Award (2016).

IMMA Talks presents a conversation with melanie bonajo and collaborator Pawel CHILL Dudus on Thursday 25 July at 5.30pm. Two artist led workshops with bonajo/Skinship Collective take place on Saturday 27 July exploring Consentship (10am) and Collective Body Spells (2pm). See full details and booking links below.

When the body says Yes was shown at FOMU, Antwerp, Belgium (2023) and KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia (2024) and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. melanie bonajo is represented by AKINCI, Amsterdam.

When the body say Yes, has been made possible with the generous support of the Mondriaan Fund.

8 July 2024

 

– ENDS –

 

For further information and images please contact: 

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

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

Additional notes for Editors

melanie bonajo When the body says Yes
26 July – 20 October 2024

Admission Free

Open: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 5.30pm.
Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm. Sunday: 12noon – 5.30pm.
Webpage: melanie bonajo When the body says Yes

IMMA Talks Programme

Preview Talk: Artist’s Conversation
melanie bonajo, When the body says Yes
Thursday 25 July, 5.30 – 6.15pm, Baroque Chapel, IMMA
Free, Booking essential, click here to book
Join Dutch artist melanie bonajo for an artist’s conversation on When the body says Yes. This talk is part of the exhibition’s opening programme, including exhibition preview, reception, and artist lead workshops with collaborator Pawel CHILL Dudus.

Other Events

BODY BUBBLE WORKSHOPS: Saturday 27 July
Hosted by by melanie bonajo and Pawel Chill Dudus (Skinship_touch_based_place_for_Kinship)
Saturday 27 July, 10 – 1pm, Matheson Creativity Hub, IMMA
Workshop – CONSENTSHIP
Join melanie bonajo and Pawel CHILL Dudus of Skinship collective for a workshop about consent and boundaries. This is a queer-friendly workshop, the theme of consent will be explored through touching exercises. Participants are asked to bring a blanket or yoga mat.
This workshop is for anyone working and teaching in the area of consent.
Free, Booking essential, click here to book

Saturday 27 July, 2 – 5pm, Matheson Creativity Hub, IMMA
WORKSHOP – Collective Body Spells
Hosted by melanie bonajo and Pawel Chill Dudus (Skinship)
What does it mean to summon a queer collective body to create a spell? How do we recognise the voice of our collective body and our voice inside of it? And to which collective future do our bodies say YES?
Collective Body Spells is a workshop about honouring individual needs while weaving them into the fabric of togetherness, creating a harmonious dance of interconnectedness.
Free, Booking essential, click here to book

 

About the artist

melanie bonajo (they/them) is an artist, filmmaker, sexological bodyworker, somatic sex coach and educator, cuddle workshop facilitator and activist. Through their videos, performances, photographs, and installations, they examine current conundrums of co-existence in a crippling capitalist system, and address themes of eroding intimacy and isolation in an increasingly sterile, technological world. They research how technological advances and commodity-based pleasures increase feelings of alienation, removing an individual’s sense of belonging. Their works present anti-capitalist methods to reconnect and to explore sexualities, intimacies and feelings. bonajo’s experimental documentaries often feature communities living or working on the margins of society, either through illegal means or cultural exclusion, and the paradoxes inherent to ideas of comfort with a strong sense for community, equality and body-politics.

bonajo studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and completed residencies at the Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunst in Amsterdam (2009 2009-10) and at ISCP in New York (2014). Solo exhibitions have been: KUMU Tallinn, EE (2023), FOMU Antwerp, BE (2023); Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, NL (2018); Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, DE (2017); FOAM, Amsterdam, NL (2016). Solo shows include When the body says Yes: IMMA Dublin, IE (2024); Kunstpalais Erlangen, DE (2024).

Pawel CHILL Dudus (they/ them) is a Polish artist living in Vienna. He studied contemporary dance and has danced in performances by Georg Blaschke, Akemi Takeya, Alessandro Sciarroni and others.

Pawel CHILL Dudus was born in Poland, studied contemporary dance at the Anton Bruckner University in Linz. Since 2015 he has been dedicated to #ONLYLOVEISREAL – a friendship-based collaboration with Laura Eva Meuris, a long-term research project dedicated to the themes of love, intimacy and (self-)care. Pawel feels the need to respond to violence, hatred and fearmongering as well as to the prevalence of normative concepts.

They investigate how intimacy and shared vulnerability can help us to improve the way we interact with each other and to build alternative networks and relationships with each other. Pawel has given workshops at the Berlin festivals STRETCH and xplore, among others. Until recently, they performed in Alexander Gottfarb’s 365-day performance Negotiations at the Tanzquartier Wien.

Skinship is a touched based place for kinship @skinship_berlin. Skinship is a Berlin-based collective teaching workshops on touch, intimacy, consent, pleasure and activism, centering queer/trans/nonbinary/femme people. Celebrating life and diversity in connection to the body is core to our values, and an act of resistance. melanie bonajo, Ayo Gry Jonassen, and Pawel CHILL Dudus founded Skinship in May 2020.

 

 

 

– Take a Breath, a major new exhibition that examines why, how and what we breathe.

– Living Canvas at IMMA, Europe’s largest digital art screen on the grounds of IMMA.  

IMMA is excited to present Summer at IMMA, a vibrant summer programme of free events that includes exhibitions, performances, screenings, talks, workshops, tours and more, taking place in the beautiful surroundings of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham from June to August.

The 2024 summer programme includes the opening of two new exhibitions, Take a Breath, provides an historical, social, political, and personal examination of breathing; and When the body says Yes an immersive video installation by Dutch artist melanie bonajo presented in IMMA’s stunning 17th-century Baroque Chapel.

IMMA is thrilled to present Living Canvas at IMMA in partnership with IPUT Real Estate, Dublin’s leading property investment company and supporter of the arts. The Living Canvas large-scale outdoor art screen is located on IMMA’s front lawn, allowing visitors and the wider community to enjoy a vibrant programme of artworks by Irish and international artists throughout the summer.

The summer programme culminates with EARTH RISING, a festival of free events and experiences aimed at addressing the climate crisis taking place from the 20 – 22 September.

Programme Highlights

Take a Breath is a major new exhibition opening on Friday 14 June that provides an historical, social, political, and personal examination of breathing – why we breathe, how we breathe and what we breathe – exploring themes of decolonisation, environmental racism, indigenous language, the impact of war on the environment and breath as meditation. Featuring the work of Marina Abramović, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Ammar Bouras, Alex Cecchetti, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Ana Mendieta, Hajra Waheed, JMW Turner, among many others, the exhibition will also explore breath through movement and sound with performances by Okwui Okpokwasili in collaboration with Peter Born, Maria Hassabi, Isabel Nolan with Belinda Quirke, and Camille Norment Trio with Crash Ensemble.

Taking as its starting point the nature of breath and its vital role in our very existence, the exhibition reflects on the social, political, environmental, and spiritual aspect of breathing. Tracking this vital act from the impact of post-industrial air pollution to modern-day wars and the effect on environment, health and how we live; to the suppression of protests of voices from different communities, where breath is a symbol of community and resistance; and the use of breath as personal meditation.

Opening on 26 July, When the body says Yes, is an immersive video installation by melanie bonajo (they/them), a queer non-binary Dutch artist, filmmaker, sexological bodyworker and somatic sex coach and educator. The installation is part of the artist’s ongoing research into the current status of intimacy in our increasingly alienating, commodity-driven world. For bonajo, touch can be a powerful remedy for the modern epidemic of loneliness.

Throughout the summer Living Canvas at IMMA will feature film and moving image works by artists including Clare Langan, Helen Cammock, Bruce Conner and Derek Jarman. The summer programme will also include one-off film screenings on selected Thursday evenings from 6 to 8pm. The Living Canvas at IMMA programme opens with the screening of renowned American artist Bruce Conner’s iconic work CROSSROADS. This mesmerising and haunting 1976 short film will be shown as part of the opening of Take a Breath, from 13 June. This will be followed by the premiere of Irish artist Clare Langan’s epic new work Alchemy, 2023, launching on 27 June and screening from 2 July.

Summer at IMMA celebrates Pride Month with a special programme of events that includes the workshop Voguing at IMMA with Haus of Schiaparelli who offer a space for queer folks to find social support, to kiki and to grow, both within and beyond Ballroom; a book launch of Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage and conversation with the photographer Gilbert McCarragher; the screening of The Angelic Conversation, 1985 by Derek Jarman and Brunch with SHREM a relaxing afternoon of Pride tunes in the Camerino Bakery café. There will also be a special IMMA MEMBERS evening with Seanchoíche, a storytelling night exploring love and empathy to celebrate Pride.

Live Performances by contemporary visual artists in the galleries and grounds of IMMA include artists Alex Cecchetti, Mark Cullen, Lisa Freeman, Irina Gheorghe, Maria Hassabi, Okwui Okpokwasili with Peter Born, and Frank Wasser. IMMA Talks invites renowned critical thinkers, writers, artists, and international curators to share their contemporary views. From keynote speakers, artists’ discussions and gallery talks to offer deeper reflection on themes of breath, care, gender, representation, and resistance.

IMMA is delighted to offer our spaces for a variety of community events, gatherings, and workshops as part of Summer at IMMA. Collaborations with community groups provide diverse opportunities for engagement through guided tours, dedicated workshops, or simply offering a space for communal gatherings. Summer events include Turban Yourself a workshop led by the Bahian artist Thaís Muniz, founder of the Turbante-se platform, who has been researching the rich history and practical techniques of turbans and headwraps in Afro-Atlantic cultures since 2012.

Summer at IMMA’s much-loved programmes, delivered by IMMA’s Visitor Engagement Team, will continue this year. These include Slow Art Tours, Art & Mindfulness workshops, yoga classes, heritage tours, biodiversity tours, family workshops and Parent and Baby Hour.  

IMMA’s popular Music in the Courtyard series continues on Sunday afternoons and will feature a monthly family Céilí with live trad music and a Céilí caller who will put you through your paces.

To round off a very special summer season IMMA will present EARTH RISING, a festival of free events and experiences aimed at addressing the climate crisis and inspiring collective action towards a sustainable and hopeful future. Now in its third year, EARTH RISING will take place from 20 to 22 September and promises an unforgettable experience that seeks to provoke, inspire, and empower audiences to become agents of change.

The award-winning Camerino Bakery café which includes an outdoor van and a beautiful indoor café is open all summer for delicious lunch and treats.

– ENDS –

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

Additional notes for Editors 

Summer at IMMA 
June / July / August
Webpage with full details and calendar: SUMMER AT IMMA – IMMA

Take a Breath – Opening Events 
Opening Reception: Thursday 13 June 2024 / 6 – 8pm

Artists’ Conversation with Alex Cecchetti, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Isabel Nolan, and others, at 5.30pm. Booked out.
Live performance of Alex Cecchetti’s Torneremo Onde, Torneremo Foreste (We will return as waves, we will return as forests), set within the immersive installation Medusa Mothers (2022), takes place in the galleries from 6 to 8pm.
Film screening of Bruce Conner’s film CROSSROADS, 1976.

Take a Breath Talks Series  

Discussion and Screening on Ana Mendiata 
Saturday 15 June / 2 – 4pm / Lecture Room 
Join us for a discussion and film screenings on the radically experimental work of Ana Mendieta (American, born, Cuba. 1948–1985) with special guest Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, who will screen two short documentaries, Ana Mendieta, Nature Inside and Whispering Cave. This event offers reflection on the continued significance of Ana Mendieta’s work and why the artist was a true pioneer of Performance Art. Book here.

Curators Talks Series: Take a Breath 
Sunday 7 July, 2 – 3pm / No booking required / Meeting point Reception 
Join Mary Cremin, Head of Programming, IMMA, for an in-gallery discussion of Take a Breath that explores a selection of works in the exhibition.
 
IMMA MEMBERS  
IMMA MEMBERS offer access to a calendar of seasonal events, retail discounts at the IMMA Shop, and bespoke merchandise, and on 20 June will host its second event of 2024 in collaboration with global storytelling phenomenon, Seanchoíche. Celebrating Pride 2024, some familiar faces from across the arts, comedy, and activism will tell their stories in IMMA’s People’s Pavilion, exclusive to IMMA MEMBERS. Tickets will be made available on 4 June and 7 June, to IMMA MEMBERS exclusively. To access the booking link, make sure you are subscribed to the IMMA MEMBERS newsletter by 7 June. To become an IMMA MEMBER click here.

IMMA presents Hilary Heron: A Retrospective, an exhibition of some 60 works celebrating the pioneering work of modernist sculptor Hilary Heron (1923 – 1977) opening on Friday 24 May 2024. As the first major retrospective exhibition of Heron’s work since 1964, this exhibition seeks to correct the ways that her work has been overlooked in Irish and international histories of modern sculpture.

Hilary Heron was a Dublin born sculptor who co-represented Ireland at the 1956 Venice Biennale alongside painter Louis le Brocquy (1916 – 2012). The exhibition brings together work from national and international collections, including carvings, welding and castings. Heron was a master welder, a practice highly unusual for an Irish artist, let alone a woman in the 1950s. Her work tactfully and skilfully broaches themes of gender, relationships, deep histories and religion through impressive, varied mediums including stone, lead, steel and wood.

Commenting on the exhibition, Seán Kissane, Curator, Exhibitions, IMMA, said: “This exhibition aims to bring Heron’s work back into public focus, and to publish a monograph with images and commentary on her work making it available to future audiences. Although Heron carved out a successful career for herself during her lifetime, problems of historiography and how the art market values the work of women less than that of men, meant that her work fell into obscurity after her death.”

Highlights from the exhibition include those works shown at the Venice Biennale each loosely on the theme of birds and the human body. Of these, Virgo (1950) is the most life-like rendition of the body, unlike each of the other sculptures which propose highly exaggerated features, like the Idol (1951) whose neck has been stretched and whose hair forms two shoulder-like appendages; or the Stiff Necked Woman (undated) whose body has been exaggerated almost to the point of abstraction.

Presented alongside Heron’s work is a display of works titled Redux: Contemporary Irish sculptors at Venice. This display features the work of Siobhán Hapaska, Eva Rothschild, and Niamh O’Malley, all female sculptors who represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 2001, 2019, and 2022 respectively. Redux, meaning revival, signals Heron’s enduring influence on contemporary Irish sculpture and her legacy in proximity to contemporary sculptural practice, making her influence visible for the first time.

A symposium on the work of Hilary Heron, presented in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin The Long Room Hub and FE Mc William Gallery, takes place on Thursday 23 May at TCD. This one-day gathering brings together a milieu of voices to reflect and speculate on Heron’s overlooked legacy. Speakers include Penelope Curtis, Fionna Barber, Riann Coulter, Billy Shortall, Mary Kelly, Barbara Knezevic, Niamh O’Malley, and others.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, published by IMMA, with texts by Riann Coulter, Seán Kissane, Sara Damaris Muthi, Billy Shortall, and Eva Rothschild.

Hilary Heron: A Retrospective is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and the Doyle Collection.

15 April 2024

– ENDS –

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

Additional notes for Editors

Hilary Heron: A Retrospective 24 May – 28 October 2024 Admission Free

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

Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm. Sunday: 12noon – 5.30pm.

Webpage: Hilary Heron: A Retrospective

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, published by IMMA, with texts by Riann Coulter, Seán Kissane, Sara Damaris Muthi, Billy Shortall, and Eva Rothschild. Price €20.00.

Exhibition Tour

This exhibition is curated by Seán Kissane, Curator, IMMA, in collaboration with Riann Coulter, Curator, FE Mc William Gallery & Studio. The exhibition will tour to the FE Mc William Gallery & Studio, Banbridge from 15 November 2024 to 15 February 2025.

Redux: Contemporary Irish sculptors at Venice is curated by Sara Damaris Muthi, Curatorial Fellow, Exhibitions, IMMA.

IMMA Talks – Hilary Heron Series

Symposium

Hilary Heron, Ireland’s Most Promising Sculptor

Thursday 23 May 2024, 10.30am – 4.30pm Offsite Trinity College Dublin – Long Room Hub

Ticketed – ticket link

Why was an extraordinary woman sculptor left in the shadows of Modern Art history? On Thurs 23 May 2024 from 10:30 – 16:30; IMMA & TCD Long Room Hub presents a symposium to coincide with the forthcoming IMMA exhibition, Hilary Heron: A Retrospective that celebrates the revolutionary work of modernist sculptor Hilary Heron (1923 – 1977). This one-day gathering brings together a milieu of voices to reflect and speculate on Heron’s overlooked legacy, in anticipation of the exhibition of Heron’s work in Ireland at IMMA.

Invited speakers include: Keynote – Penelope Curtis (author, historian, former director of Henry Moore Institute, Tate Britain, and Gulbenkian Museum, UK); Fionna Barber (Reader in Art History, Manchester School of Art, UK); Riann Coulter (art historian, curator, FE Mc William Gallery); Billy Shortall (art historian, leading Hilary Heron scholar, TCD); Mary Kelly (Programme Director, MA in Global Gallery Studies, UCC); Seán Kissane (curator, Exhibitions, IMMA); Barbara Knezevic (artist, lecturer); Sara Damaris Muthi (curatorial fellow, IMMA); Niamh O’Malley (artist) and others.

This symposium follows in the IMMA Modern Masters Series that offers a critical reappraisal of the work and ideas of lesser-known artists. The symposium is followed by the exhibition launch and preview of Hilary Heron: A Retrospective at IMMA. Refreshments are available to all event attendees on the day. See full details here https://imma.ie/whats-on/modern-masters-symposium-hilary-heron-irelands-most-promising-sculptor/

Curators Talk Series – Free & Drop In

Hilary Heron: A Retrospective with Seán Kissane

Sun 30 June 2024, 2 – 3pm, Meeting Point, IMMA Garden Galleries

Seán Kissane (Curator, Exhibitions, IMMA) gives and in-gallery introduction on a selection of works that comprise the exhibition, Hilary Heron: A Retrospective.

Admission free.

Redux: Contemporary Irish sculptors at Venice with Sara Damaris Muthi Sun 18 August 2024, 2 – 3pm, Meeting Point, IMMA Garden Galleries

Sara Damaris Muthi (Curatorial Fellow, IMMA) gives an in-gallery introduction to Redux: Contemporary Irish sculptors at Venice.

Admission free.

About the artist

Hilary Heron was born in Dublin in 1923, the same period which saw the establishment of the Irish Free State. Heron studied sculpture at the National College of Art, where she won the prestigious Taylor Art Scholarship Prize three years running in 1944, 1945 and 1946. With her Mainie Jellett travel scholarship, Heron bought a motorbike and travelled throughout Europe and to Paris, where her contact was Samuel Beckett. She was represented by Ireland’s most important commercial gallery, the Waddington Galleries, who presented her first solo exhibition in 1950. Heron’s international visibility as Ireland’s foremost modern sculptor was reinforced when she was selected to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 1956 alongside Louis le Brocquy. Heron’s key influences include the environment and art circles of Post War Paris, Existentialism, Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Elizabeth Frink, and Leslie Waddington, amongst others.

IMMA presents We realised the power of it, an exhibition-project by Sara Greavu and Ciara Phillips, that deals with the history of the radical film collective, Derry Film and Video Workshop (DFVW), opening on Saturday 30 March 2024.

DFVW was a woman-led film production company established in Derry in 1983 that operated until 1990. Its members, most of whom had no prior experience of filmmaking, came together with a sense of urgency to make films addressing overlapping political tensions around gender, class, the Irish national question and legacies of colonialism.
  
We realised the power of it includes raw footage, photographs, and archival documents that trace a partial history of the workshop and its practice. Working through the archive and with former collective members Anne Crilly and Margo Harkin, the research begins to uncover the organic, reactive, and experimental methodologies of the collective. It considers the highly-charged context in which they were working, as well as the overarching political principles and energy that bound them together.

A DFVW document from 1988 states its purpose “Derry Film & Video Collective was legally formed as a Company in June 1984 as a logical extension of an idea which was being developed by a small group of people in the North West of Ireland. We observed that the North of Ireland had become one of the most media-biased areas of the world over the preceding fifteen years and that, for the most part, this media coverage was sensationalist, superficial, interventionist and censored. Derry Film & Video was formed, therefore, to make an indigenous contribution to media representation of our lives”.  

DFVW produced a number of films, including Stop Strip Searching (1984); Planning (1986); Mother Ireland (1988); Hush-a-Bye Baby (1990), as well as enacting various forms of cultural education including community screenings and filmmaking courses. Working to counteract the ‘slow violence’ of British TV news and cinema stereotyped depictions of the north of Ireland, members of DFVW sought to tell a different story about their lived political and social realities. The intersections and fractures between feminism and republicanism were the key area of interest that shaped their output. In doing this work of representation and crafting both documentary and fiction films, they learned methods of researching, filming, logging, collating, scripting, and editing through doing, driven by a sense of the pressing political need to speak on their own behalf.

We realised the power of it was originally commissioned for the Guest Programme of the 39th EVA International, curated by Merve Elveren.

– ENDS –

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

Additional notes for Editors

We realised the power of it – Derry Film and Video Workshop 
30 March – 22 September 2024  
Admission Free

Open: 
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 5.30pm.
Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm.
Sunday: 12noon – 5.30pm.
Webpage: We realised the power of it – Derry Film & Video Workshop – IMMA 
 
About the project  
We realised the power of it is part of a long-term, ongoing research process that has involved working with former members of the collective, their supporters, peers, and fellow activists; helping to preserve, digitise, and archive the videotapes that only existed in their original U-matic format; and working with an extensive document and image archive that was preserved by former collective member, Margo Harkin. Other members of the collective, at different points in time, included Anne Crilly, Trisha Ziff, Geraldine McGuiness, Jim Curran, Stephanie English, Tommy Collins, Therese Friel, Brendan McMenamin, and Jamie Dunbar.

Receiving the bulk of their funding from Channel 4, the workshop was one of the companies formed under the terms of the 1982 Workshop Declaration (1), an initiative that sought to democratise the process of filmmaking and broadcasting, and amplify the voices of those who were marginalised on the basis of race, gender, geography, sexuality and class. As a newly established ‘publisher broadcaster,’ Channel 4 provided both significant financial support for production and the platform to distribute their works.

The work of DFVW amounts to more than its filmic outputs. Revisiting and reframing the project provides an opportunity to think beyond notions of the filmmaker-auteur and to think through practical and administrative aspects of this work as well. Within a broader frame, it is possible to consider context, infrastructure, physical space and those allies who were willing to hold political space for the work to be made. It admits, for instance, the stories of surveillance and raids, speaking as much to the increased administrative burden that this state oppression engenders as to its injustice. It points to the experience of being both incorporated and disavowed through financial and distributive dependence on a British broadcaster—albeit the most progressive of these, at that time. It touches on their story of collective organising, of the horizontal and equal distribution of resources among collective members; of the way that organising in collective structures and sharing resources equally amounts to a kind of speculation about what the future could be, prefiguring and proposing a different way of working.

(1) An initiative of The Independent Filmmakers’ Association, the British Film Institute, and ACTT (the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians).

Sara Greavu (she/her) lives and works between Derry and Dublin. A researcher, writer and organiser, she is the Curator of Visual Arts at Project Arts Centre, Dublin. In 2024, with Project Arts Centre, she is curator of Ireland’s Pavilion at the 60th International Venice Biennale, presenting Eimear Walshe’s work, ROMANTIC IRELAND.  

Ciara Phillips is an Irish and Canadian artist born in Ottawa, Canada in 1976. Her work has been exhibited in public institutions, artist-run spaces and private galleries worldwide including: Ciara Phillips at Trykkeriet in Bergen in 2019; The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art; The Model, Sligo; Kunsthall Stavanger; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; Benaki Museum, Athens; TATE Britain, London; and Hamburg Kunstverein. She is the initiator of many collaborative projects including: Workshop (2010 – ongoing); Poster Club (2010 – 2017); Press Room (2019); and Åpent Trykkeri (2018 – 2019). In 2014, Phillips was nominated for the Turner Prize, and in 2020 she was awarded the Queen Sonja Print Award in Oslo. She is a Professor at the University of Bergen, Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design.

Today IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) and Matheson LLP, are excited to announce the opening of a new community space created by Studio Makkink & Bey, The Matheson Creativity Hub in Memory of Tim Scanlon.  

Designed by internationally-renowned design practice, Studio Makkink & Bey, who were selected as the winning designers by a panel of judges in March 2023 after an invited architectural competition, the Matheson Creativity Hub at IMMA combines exceptional architecture and design to provide a welcoming and inclusive space that inspires creative engagement and fosters social connectivity for audiences of all ages. IMMA have been delighted to partner with Matheson to realise this new space. 

Michael Jackson, Managing Partner, Matheson, said: “We are proud to partner with IMMA to bring this innovative and inclusive space to life. The Matheson Creativity Hub is a tribute to Tim’s legacy and a symbol of our enduring partnership with the Museum, furthering our shared dedication to making a meaningful impact within our community. Delivered as part of the arts pillar of Matheson’s Impactful Business Programme, this project underlines our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and providing access to the arts for people of all ages and backgrounds. I would like to thank the volunteers of Matheson’s Arts Committee and the team at IMMA who gave their time and expertise to this initiative, as well as the designers, Studio Makkink & Bey, for creating a welcoming and engaging new space. We hope that the Matheson Creativity Hub will empower individuals of all walks of life to access and participate in the arts.” 

Sheena Barrett, Head of Research & Learning, IMMA said: “The Matheson Creativity Hub in Memory of Tim Scanlon is an exciting new addition to IMMA and supports our vision, to be the most dynamic and welcoming cultural destination in Ireland. At IMMA, we believe in the power of artistic practice to imagine and shape a different world—a world where every voice is heard, where communities thrive, and where unexpected experiences spark inspiration and change. The Matheson Creativity Hub in Memory of Tim Scanlon provides a bespoke space to drop-in, draw, make and enjoy taking time to invest in your creative self. Through a mixture of programmed events, workshops, performances and more casual drop-in times, these new spaces are inviting and radically public. Studio Makkink & Bey have designed the space to be flexible to accommodate our family Explorer and Schools programmes for families and children, our IMMA Horizons programmes for the lifelong curious, reading groups and seminars, silent disco drawing workshops, performances and more while also being open to visitors who’d like to spend some time delving into the boxes of art materials on offer to create responses to the exhibitions they’ve seen. The space is both playful and luxurious and invites visitors to spend time, be curious and explore their own creativity and foster imaginations.”  

Commenting on the new space, Studio Makkink & Bey said: “The design of the Matheson Creativity Hub provides endless possibilities to host diverse activities for an inclusive community. It acts as a place to inspire and be inspired by, while providing attributes to activate participation around modern art and artistic expression. Here, visitors indulge in experiencing the embodiment of diverse artistic practices. With and without programming, the space offers a soft invitation to participate.”  

Makkink & Bey is an internationally renowned design practice with over  20 years of experience in the spatial and artistic field. At the heart lies their  methodology to oversee the greater landscape of a project, reaching from social  and historical to material and environmental aspects.

Matheson has made a significant contribution to the cultural landscape in Ireland and has worked with IMMA since 2015, supporting over 50 artists through new commissions and major international exhibitions. Both partnerships – New Art at IMMA (2015 – 2018) and Irish Art at IMMA (2018 – 2019) were championed by Tim Scanlon (1965 -2020). As former Chairperson of Matheson and IMMA Board Member (2016 – 2020),Tim was an important influence on IMMA’s thinking. Tim encouraged progressive programming and change-making conversations that placed community engagement and inclusivity at the heart of the Museum’s activities.          

– ENDS – 

Contact: For further information and images please contact
Monica Cullinane, IMMA, E: [email protected]
Patrice Molloy, IMMA, E: [email protected]
Heather Yates, Matheson LLP, E: [email protected]
David Kinch, MKC Communications, E: [email protected]   

Additional Notes for Editors 

About Matheson 

– Matheson’s clients include the majority of the Fortune 100 companies and it advises 7 of the top 10 global technology brands, 7 of the world’s 10 largest asset managers, and over half of the world’s 50 largest banks.

-Matheson is headquartered in Dublin and also has offices in Cork, London, New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto.  The firm employs over 860 people across its six offices, including 122 partners and tax principals, and over 560 legal, tax and digital services professionals.

-Matheson was named Ireland Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year at the International Tax Review (ITR) EMEA Tax Awards 2023 in September 2023.

-In September 2023, Matheson was awarded the Best Energy Achievement in Financial & Professional Services award at the Business Energy Achievement Awards 2023.  Partner, Garret Farrelly received the Energy Leader Award, which recognises and honours outstanding leaders, at the same event.

-Also in September 2023, Matheson’s collaborative initiative to support Ukrainian refugees won the Partnership with Charity / Volunteering award at the Chambers Ireland Sustainable Business Awards 2023.

-Matheson won the Pro Bono: Outstanding Firm award at the Chambers Europe Awards 2023 in Milan in May 2023.

-Also in May 2023, Matheson was named Irish Firm of the Year at the IFLR Europe Awards.

-In April 2023, the firm was awarded the Net Zero Carbon Award at the Business & Finance ESG Awards 2023 for our innovative energy tracking app, CarbonCal.

-Also in April 2023, Matheson was awarded the Sustainability in Early Talent Recruitment Award and the Highly Commended Award in the Diversity Recruitment Award category at the gradIreland Graduate Recruitment Awards 2023.

-In February 2023 Matheson was ranked as Ireland’s Leading Funds Practice by assets under management for the twelfth consecutive year by the Monterey Insight Ireland Fund Report.

-Matheson was named Diversity and Inclusion Law Firm of the Year at the Irish Law Awards 2021 and 2022.  In November 2023, the firm’s female / male partner gender ratio was ranked the sixth most gender-diverse in Europe by The Lawyer in its European 100 report 2023.

-In 2019, Matheson became the first organisation in Ireland to receive the Investors in Diversity Gold Standard Award from the Irish Centre for Diversity in recognition of the firm’s development and implementation of a series of people-focussed D&I initiatives.  In March 2022, Matheson succeeded in retaining the Gold Standard.  Matheson is the only law firm in Ireland to achieve the Gold Standard.

-In 2021 Matheson became one of the first Irish law firms to establish a dedicated cross-sectoral and partner-led Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory Group which assists companies in navigating and responding to the rapidly evolving ESG landscape.  Matheson clients have access to an online ESG resource hub of knowledge and insights.

-In 2020, Matheson became the first Irish-headquartered law firm to sign up to the Mindful Business Charter, a collaboration between financial services businesses and law firms in Ireland and the UK promoting healthy and effective ways of working.  In 2021, Matheson became a signatory to the Law Society of Ireland’s Professional Wellbeing Charter, which champions behaviours, skills and practices to promote and enable professional wellbeing in the workplace.

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 nearly 4,000 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. 

About Studio Makkink & Bey
Studio Makkink & Bey is led by designer-architect Rianne Makkink and designer Jurgen Bey. The studio works in various domains of applied art and includes public space projects, product design, architecture, exhibition design and applied arts. Supported by a design team, they have been operating their design practice since 2002. 

The ambition of Studio Makkink & Bey is to see the role of the designer expanded to the most strategic function possible. To this end, their design team includes professionals from many different fields of knowledge; forming alliances with other designers, architects and experts. Their past projects include work with the Theatre Kunstmin 2014, the Rotterdam 2015, and their self-initiated project, the WaterSchool. studiomakkinkbey.nl 

 

Ten years since its inception, L’Internationale Online launches its new research and publishing platform at internationaleonline.org. The platform includes over 200 long reads, opinion pieces and artist contributions on urgent cultural and political debates from some of the world’s leading thinkers and practitioners, all available in PDF in reader formats. Over forty publications, produced by the confederation are available for free download. 

IMMA is a proud member of L’Internationale, a European confederation of museums, art organisations and universities. Founded in 2009, L’Internationale works across programming (exhibitions, seminars, schools, residencies, public programmes) research and publishing, and communication. L’Internationale Online was initiated a decade ago and serves as the shared platform for the confederation. Its new version has been developed under the editorship of Nick Aikens, who assumed the role of the Managing Editor and Research Responsible in August 2023 as part of the four year, EU funded project ’Museum of the Commons’.

Nick Aikens explains:
L’Internationale has grown considerably in 2023, currently comprising 11 partners, 3 academic partners and 3 associate partners.
The focus on content-led collaboration and working for the commons makes the new L’Internationale Online platform a vital resource for the network and our diverse constituents. The new platform will be a generative tool for students, researchers and the wider arts community at a time when we desperately need imaginative, critical thinking to shape more fair, just worlds.  

Internationaleonline.org includes contributions, reading recommendations, free ebooks, editorials, statements, essays and articles by researchers affiliated to the institutions, think tanks or universities that make up L’Internationale alongside invited scholars and practitioners. The index allows you to search for material by title, author or thematic thread, including the three content strands within the Museum of the Commons project: climate, situated organisations and past in the present. All content on the platform is free and without advertising. Content is commissioned in the contributor’s original language and translated into English.

The project was led by Nick Aikens with Anna Granqvist and Tove Posselt. It was designed by Anja Groten, interaction and development was by Joel Galvez, website accessibility and ecology by Karl Moubarak. The Digital Ecology Institute served as Ecology Consultant. Content for the platform is decided through the L’Internationale Online Editorial Board.

L’Internationale is a European confederation of museums, arts organisations and universities, founded in 2009. It takes its name from the 19th century worker’s anthem written by Eugène Pottier. The confederation advocates a new internationalist model that challenges exclusivity and emphasises common heritage through interconnected archives and constituent-led approaches, fostering individual and collective emancipation. In its current configuration L’Internationale brings together eight major European art institutions: HKW (Berlin, Germany); MSU (Zagreb, Croatia); Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain); MACBA (Barcelona, Spain); M HKA, (Antwerp, Belgium); MSN (Warsaw, Poland), Salt (Istanbul, Turkiye), Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, the Netherlands), with Institute of Radical Imagination (Naples,Italy), tranzit.ro (Bucharest, Cluj and Iasi, Romania), and VCRC (Kyiv, Ukraine). L’Internationale has three academic partners: HDK-Valand (Gothenburg, Sweden), NCAD (Dublin, Ireland) and ZRC SAZU (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and three associate organisations IMMA (Dublin, Ireland), MG+MSUM (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and WIELS  (Forest, Belgium).

L’Internationale is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This platform reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, today (15 February 2024) announced highlights of its 2024 programme, featuring a retrospective exhibition of the work of pioneering modernist sculptor Hilary Heron; an immersive video installation by melanie bonajo presented in IMMA’s stunning 17th-century Baroque Chapel; and for the first time outside of the UK the showing of the work of ground-breaking artist Hamad Butt. A major group exhibition, Take a Breath, that provides an historical, social, political, and personal examination of breathing; why we breathe, how we breathe and what we breathe, includes live performances by Okwui Okpokwasili, Maria Hasabi and Camille Norment. 

Other highlights include the presentation of We realised the power of it, an exhibition-project dealing with the history and archive of the radical film collective, Derry Film and Video Workshop; an exhibition of modernist and contemporary photographers derived from the David Kronn Collection; and the return of the popular Summer at IMMA programme and IMMA’s Eco Festival, EARTH RISING. IMMA is also excited to announce the opening of a new community space in partnership with Matheson created by Studio Makkink & Bey, and the roll out of a new IMMA MEMBERS programme with a series of bespoke events and happenings.  

Continuing in 2024 is the momentous Museum wide exhibition Self-Determination: A Global Perspective, one of the largest exhibitions in the Museum’s history. The culmination of a three-year research project, this exhibition focuses on the nation-states that emerged in the wake of the First World War, exploring the role of art and artists in relation to the expression of national identities, nation-building, and statecraft. Opening today, two new works commissioned by IMMA are presented as part of the exhibition – Turkish artist İz Öztat site-specific installation, Rest, and a new multi-narrative environment, An Dún, by Belfast based Array Collective. 

Opening in March, We realised the power of it, is an exhibition-project by Sara Greavu and Ciara Phillips that deals with the history and archive of the radical film collective, Derry Film and Video Workshop. This installation of archive material includes footage, photographs and documents that trace a history of the workshop, exploring concerns with gender, class, collective organising, the Irish ‘national question’ and the legacies of imperialism. Originally co-commissioned with EVA International, as part of the Guest Programme of the 39th EVA International.  

In May, Hilary Heron: A Retrospective, celebrates the pioneering work of modernist Irish sculptor Hilary Heron (1923 – 1977). As the first major retrospective exhibition of Heron’s work since 1964, this exhibition will seek to correct the ways that her work has been overlooked in Irish and international histories of modern sculpture. Heron was a master welder, a practice highly unusual for an Irish artist, let alone a woman in the 1950s. Her work tactfully and skilfully broaches themes of gender, relationships, deep histories and religion through impressive, varied mediums including stone, lead, steel and wood.   

IMMA’s summer season opens with Take a Breath, a major new exhibition that tracks the impact of air pollution from industrialisation to modern-day wars and how that effects our environment, our health and how we live. The act of breathing is central to existence, we inhale and exhale unconsciously, it gives voice through language and speech. The exhibition will explore the suppression of protests of voices from different communities, breath as a symbol of distinct voices, community, and resistance. Moving to the personal, the use of breath as meditation to move from the external to the internal, to consciously influence your breathing in daily life and focus on the present. Take a Breath features the work of Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Alex Cecchetti, Ammar Bouras, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski, Hajra Waheed, Ana Mendieta, Isabel Nolan, among many others. The exhibition will explore breath through movement and sound with performances by Okwui Okpokwasili, Maria Hasabi and Camille Norment.    

Opening in July, When the body says Yes, is an immersive video installation by melanie bonajo (they/them), a queer non-binary Dutch artist, filmmaker, sexological bodyworker and somatic sex coach and educator. The installation, originally commissioned by the Mondriaan Fund for the Biennale Arte 2022, is part of the artist’s ongoing research into the current status of intimacy in our increasingly alienating, commodity-driven world. For bonajo, touch can be a powerful remedy for the modern epidemic of loneliness. 

Throughout the Summer months Summer at IMMA will present a vibrant programme of artist performances, workshops, talks, and IMMA’s popular Music in the Courtyard series. The Summer programme culminates with EARTH RISING, a two-day festival of free events and experiences aimed at addressing the climate crisis and inspiring collective action towards a sustainable and hopeful future, taking place from 20 to 22 September.  

In the Autumn an exhibition of photography from the David Kronn Collection celebrates the fourth donation from Irish-born, US-based collector David Kronn. This latest gift will bring the total number of works donated to IMMA to nearly 200 photographs. The present donation includes a diverse selection of works, ranging from 19th-century to the present day, by modernist photographers such as André Kertész, Irving Penn, Berenice Abbott, Brett Weston, Mike Disfarmer and Martine Franck, as well as contemporary works by Nicolai Howalt & Trine Søndergaard, and Doug DuBois. 

 IMMA is excited to present for the first time outside of the UK a retrospective exhibition of the work of Hamad Butt (1962-1994), organised by IMMA and Whitechapel Gallery, London, opening in December. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, and raised in London, he was British South Asian, Muslim, and queer. Before his AIDS-related death in 1994, aged 32, Butt completed and showed four key sculptural installations and left behind writings, drawings, paintings, and plans for new installations. He was a contemporary of the Young British Artists (and their peer at Goldsmiths) and critics described him as epitomizing the new ‘hazardism’ in art. He exhibited widely in his lifetime, and he was arguably the first British artist to respond in a non-militant, conceptual mode to HIV/AIDS. His iconic sculptural works have never been shown together, his paintings and drawings never exhibited until now.   

Commenting on the 2024 programme, IMMA Director, Annie Fletcher said: “In 2024, IMMA is proud to present a diverse and thought-provoking programme that reflects our commitment to showcasing pioneering artists that resonate with contemporary life. From retrospectives honouring overlooked artists such as the sculptor Hilary Heron to ambitious immersive installations exploring intimacy and touch by artists like melanie benajo, our programme aims to spark dialogue, challenge perceptions, and inspire. We look forward to welcoming visitors to engage with these compelling works and to join us in fostering a vibrant inclusive cultural community, here at IMMA.”  

 A key element of IMMA’s work is the Collection on Loan. IMMA lends extensively its Collection, nationally and internationally, to support the exhibition programmes of other public institutions. To date in 2024, works from the IMMA Collection will travel to the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts; Tate Britain; Royal Academy of Fine Arts, London; Firstsite, Colchester; Lewis Glucksman Gallery, and Crawford Art Gallery. Touring exhibitions include works from IMMA’s acclaimed Patrica Hurl: Irish Gothic retrospective to be shown at the South Tipperary Arts Centre and Source Arts Centre. 

Please click on the links below to read more about the individual exhibitions, which will be accompanied by a dynamic programme of talks, events, screenings, performances, artist residencies and artist commissions to be announced throughout the year.   

IMMA Programme 2024 

Continuing in 2024 

Self-Determination: A Global Perspective
Until 21 April 2024 

Opening in 2024 

Self-Determination: A Global Perspective – Artist Commissions 

15 February – 15 September 2024 

We realised the power of it – Derry Film & Video Workshop 

28 March – 22 September 2024 

Hilary Heron: A Retrospective
24 May – 3 November 2024 

Take a Breath
14 June 2024 – 30 March 2025

melanie bonajo: When the body says Yes
26 July – 27 October 2024  

David Kronn Collection  

28 October 2024 to 26 January 2025   

Hamad Butt: Apprehensions  

6 December 2024 – 5 May 2025  

Collection on Loan
Ongoing  

 

– ENDS –  

For further information and images please contact:  

Monica Cullinane E: [email protected]  

Patrice Molloy E: [email protected]  

Additional notes for Editors

The Matheson Creativity Hub in Memory of Tim Scanlan 

In March, IMMA in partnership with Matheson, will launch a new innovative community space designed by Studio Makkink & Bey called The Matheson Creativity Hub in Memory of Tim Scanlan. Studio Makkink & Bey was selected by a panel of judges, after an invited architectural competition, to create an innovative space at IMMA that combines exceptional architecture and design to provide a welcoming and inclusive space, that inspires creative engagement and fosters social connectivity for audiences of all ages. IMMA are thrilled to partner with Matheson to realise this new space.

IMMA MEMBERS 

IMMA is built on the stories it holds, tells, and inspires. And there are no better ambassadors to tell these stories than our friends and supporters – IMMA’s newly launched membership programme, IMMA MEMBERS is an inclusive community of like-minded, curious, and creative individuals who would like to experience IMMA in new ways. Across the year, IMMA MEMBERS will be invited to all our exhibition openings, unlimited access to the museum’s programme of exhibitions, events and talks, enjoy retail discounts and bespoke membership merchandise, plus have the chance to experience money-can’t-buy seasonal events each quarter. You can read more about the programme on the IMMA website here 

IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art), Hugh Lane Gallery and Culture Ireland are delighted to announce the selection of two artists, Breda Lynch and Sana Shahmuradova Tanska, as participants of the 24th Biennale of Sydney, a direct result of the IRELAND INVITES programme.

Launched in early 2023, IRELAND INVITES seeks to enhance international exposure for Irish based visual artists by hosting biennale curators to undertake visits to studio and art institutions in Ireland. The first visiting curator Inti Guerrero, Artistic Director of the Sydney Biennale, 2024 travelled to Ireland as part of the IRELAND INVITES initiative in May of this year.

During his visit Guerrero met with several visual artists from across Ireland.  Artworks by Irish artist Breda Lynch and Ukrainian artist Sana Shahmuradova Tanska, who produced her work while on a Production Residency at IMMA in collaboration with EVA International, have been selected to participate in the 24th Biennale of Sydney, Ten Thousand Suns, which takes place from 9 March to 10 June 2024.

Commenting on the selection of Lynch and Shahmuradova Tanska to participate in the Biennale of Sydney, Annie Fletcher, Director, IMMA, Barbara Dawson, Director Hugh Lane Gallery and Sharon Barry, Director Culture Ireland said: “We are thrilled for both artists on their selection for the Sydney Biennale and delighted that IRELAND INVITES was able to play a role in facilitating this wonderful achievement.  Ireland has a strong visual arts practice, and we are excited about the opportunity IRELAND INVITES provides to further enhance the representation of Irish visual artists internationally”.  
 
IRELAND INVITES gives visiting curators the opportunity to enhance their understanding of contemporary art practices in Ireland availing of the curatorial expertise of IMMA, Hugh Lane Gallery and Culture Ireland, who create bespoke hosted trips for each visiting curator.

The programme also welcomed Miguel A. López and Dominique Fontaine this year, co-curators of the Toronto Biennial of Art, 2024 who visited Ireland to coincide with EVA, Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art in Limerick.  Plans are in place to welcome curators representing Hawaii, Karachi, and Berlin in the coming months.

– ENDS – 
 
Contact: For further information and images please contact: 
Monica Cullinane E: [email protected] 
Patrice Molloy E: [email protected]

Additional Notes for Editors 

24th Biennale of Sydney 
The 24th Biennale of Sydney, Ten Thousand Suns, takes place from 9 March to 10 June 2024. Visit Ten Thousand Suns – Biennale of Sydney for details.

Inti Guerrero 
Inti Guerrero, together with Cosmin Costinas was announced last summer as the Co-Artistic Director of the 24th Biennale of Sydney which will take place from 9 March to 10 June 2024. Inti Guerrero is currently tutor of the Curatorial Studies programme at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts-KASK, Ghent.  He was the Artistic Director of bap – bellas artes projects, Manila (2018-2022), Curator of the 38th EVA International, Ireland’s Biennial, Limerick (2018), Artistic Director of TEOR/éTica, San Jose (2011-2014) and the Estrellita B. Brodsky Adjunct Curator at Tate, London (2016-2020).

As an independent curator, Guerrero has curated exhibitions across Asia, Europe, Latin America and West Africa, including ‘Myth Makers” (curated with Chantal Wong) at Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong (2023), ‘Fraccionar’ at Casa Museo Luis Barragan, Mexico City (2019), ‘A Chronicle of Interventions,’ Tate Modern, London (2014) and ‘A Transatlantic Affair: Josephine Baker and Le Corbusier,’ (curated with Carlos Maria Romero) at Museum of Art of Rio-MAR, Rio de Janeiro (2014). He has edited and contributed his writing to numerous books, magazines, and exhibition catalogues and has taught and lectured at different universities, art academies, and institutions across the world.

Over the past 10 years, Costinaș and Guerrero have co-curated a number of exhibitions together including ‘A Journal of the Plague Year’ (Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and San Francisco, 2013-2015) ‘Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs’ (Manila, Hong Kong, Bangkok, 2016-2017), ‘Long Green Lizzards’ – Dakar Biennale, La Biennale de l’Art africain contemporain, Dakar (2018). Both curators are based in Berlin.

Breda Lynch 
Artist, curator and teacher, Brenda Lynch attended the Crawford College of Art, Cork, Chelsea College of Art, London, and the University of Wolverhampton. Lynch has exhibited extensively in Ireland and abroad. International exhibitions include curated group exhibitions in Scotland, England, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Thailand, China, USA, and Australia.

Solo exhibitions in Ireland and Northern Ireland include:’WItch and Lezzie’, Ashford Gallery RHA (2017), ‘Fragments of a Lost Civilisation’, Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar (2016), ’The Pit and Other Stories’ , at Siamsa Tire Gallery, Tralee (2014), ’Thursday’s Clinic’ , 126 Gallery, Galway (2013), ‘Strangelove’, Black Mariah, Triskel, Cork (2010),’Song to the Siren’, Galway Arts Centre (2009), ‘Place of the Crows’ and ‘Fleurs Fatales’, Context Gallery Derry (2007) and ‘Dark Brides and Silent Twins’ Limerick City Gallery of Art (2006).

She is represented in several national collections including the OPW – Office of Public Works, NUIG Collection – Galway, Luciano Benetton Italy, Trinity College Art Collection, Limerick City Gallery Collection, University of Limerick Collection, Hunt Museum Limerick and other private collections.

Sana Shahmuradova Tanska 
Sana Shahmuradova Tanska is a Ukrainian artist currently based in Kyiv, a significant part of her childhood was spent in the countryside in the Podillia region, among rivers and forests. In 2014 she relocated to Toronto as an immigrant where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at York University, Toronto, ON in 2020. Following this Sana decided to return to the city of Kyiv which has always inspired her.

Sana Shahmuradova Tanska was on a Production Residency at IMMA from February to April 2023 and was nominated for this opportunity by EVA International ‘Guest Programme’ curator Sebastian Cichocki. The 40th EVA International took place in Limerick, from 31 August – 29 October 2023. Production Residencies support national programming through the provision of space and time leading up to major exhibitions or research projects with partnering organisations and programmes.

About IMMA www.imma.ie   
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 nearly 4,000 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.

About Hugh Lane Gallery www.hughlane.ie 
Located in Dublin’s City Centre, in Parnell Square, Hugh Lane Gallery, (originally named Municipal Gallery of Modern Art), houses one of Ireland’s most exciting collections of modern and contemporary Irish and international art. It is also the home of Francis Bacon’s Studio. The Gallery was founded by Sir Hugh Lane in 1908 as part of the dynamic and pioneering Celtic Revival Movement in Ireland at the turn of the 20thcentury. Since its foundation, the gallery’s collection of modern and international art has grown considerably. As rich resource in the visual arts, HLG, where art and ideas meet, participates with many diverse communities nationally and globally through its programmes of engagement, learning, exhibitions, rotating displays, and research.
 
About Culture Ireland www.cultureireland.ie 
Culture Ireland promotes Irish arts worldwide and creates and supports opportunities for Irish artists and companies to present and promote their work at strategic international festivals and venues. Culture Ireland develops platforms to present outstanding Irish work to international audiences, through showcases at key global arts events, including the Edinburgh Festivals and the Venice Biennales.

This autumn, IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) presents a major international exhibition Self-Determination: A Global Perspective, one of the largest exhibitions in the Museum’s history, opening on Thursday 30 November 2023. Self-Determination is the culmination of a three-year research and commissioning project, in dialogue with museums and institutions worldwide, presenting over 110 artists. Focusing on new nation-states which emerged in the wake of the First World War, it explores the role of art and artists in relation to the expression of national identities, nation-building and statecraft. The exhibition is part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012–2023.

Bringing together a range of Irish and international works, both modern and contemporary, the exhibition illuminates the shared experiences of early 20th century new states. It includes key works from national and international collections – including the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU), who have sent major works from Kyiv to Dublin for the exhibition – as well as new commissions by artists invited to respond to the theme of self-determination.

The juxtaposition of historical and contemporary perspectives is a key element of the exhibition. IMMA has commissioned new works by Array Collective, Jasmina Cibic, Declan Clarke, Minna Henriksson and İz Öztat. The exhibition also presents co-commissions by Banu Çennetoğlu, and Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind. These commissions benefit from a century of hindsight, inviting audiences to navigate between the past and the present, fostering a deeper understanding of the long-term impacts of nation building.

Two major Ukrainian art institutions, the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU) and the Museum of Theatre, Music, and Cinema of Ukraine, are lending more than 20 artworks to the exhibition. These works, which will have travelled from Kyiv to Dublin for this collaboration, reflect the bold creative expression of Ukrainian national identity after the First World War, and attest to the creative fruition of a distinct Ukrainian modernism. IMMA is honoured to work with partners in Kyiv to show these important artworks in Ireland, reflecting on the urgency of self-determination both historically and in the present day.

In addition, the exhibition will include a number of artworks by contemporary artists, reflecting on the preoccupations of the project. This will encompass works from the IMMA Collection as well as a number of key contemporary loans, including works by Ursula Burke, Dorothy Cross, Ieva Epnere, Dragana Jurišić, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Gülsün Karamustafa, Istvan Laszlo, Niamh McCann, Brian O’Doherty, Alan Phelan, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Sasha Sykes and Dilek Winchester.

Self-Determination: A Global Perspective is part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012–2023, which marks the 100-year anniversary of the foundation of the Irish State. In 1919, Arthur Griffith, writing from Gloucester Prison, urged his colleagues to ‘mobilise the poets’ to help make Ireland’s case for independence on the international stage. Griffith’s letter acknowledges the role of art and culture in developing international solidarities and justifying Ireland’s right, among other small nations, to ‘self-determine’. It also highlights the new possibilities for artists in the early twentieth century, an era of collapsing empires and seismic geopolitical shifts, to articulate and enact radical modern and democratic principles.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD welcomes the opening of the exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art: “This is a significant exhibition that is inspired by our own journey of self-determination in Ireland. It is most fitting that my Department is supporting the exhibition and associated IMMA programming under the Decade of Centenaries Programme. Putting the Irish story in the context of the wider historical international movement through the medium of diverse multi-national cultural imagination and expression is highly effective in helping audiences to gain a deeper grasp of history and the perspectives and interpretation of great artists from the period.”

Conceived by IMMA Director Annie Fletcher, Self-Determination was developed by lead curator Seán Kissane, lead researcher Nathan O’Donnell and commissions curator Johanne Mullan, following a process of speculative enquiry and long-term consultation and exchange with researchers, artists and curators from around the world. It asks questions around how diverse countries understood the formation of the new state; how it was imagined; and how contemporary artists today reckon with the legacies of this period. At the same time it explores some of the common cultural strategies that emerged across many of the new nation-states including Finland (1917), Estonia (1918), Latvia (1918), Poland (1918), Ukraine (1917), Turkey (1923), and Egypt (1922), against the backdrop of the international movement towards self-determination, most famously articulated by Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Talks in 1919.

Each of the new states produced its own cultural complexities, with its own traditions, histories, and industries to be reimagined in line with the new imperatives of modernity. Self-Determination: A Global Perspective explores common strategies and methodologies developed by artists, cultural practitioners, and others invested in the formation of a new state in the first half of the twentieth century.

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication, Art and Self-Determination: A Reader, edited by Lisa Moran (Curator: Engagement and Learning, IMMA) and Stephen O’Neill (IMMA/IRC Enterprise Postdoctoral Research Fellow).

Self-Determination: A Global Perspective is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012–2023.

1 Nov 2023

– ENDS –

For further information and images please contact:
Monica Cullinane | [email protected]
Patrice Molloy | [email protected]

Additional notes to editors

Self-Determination: A Global Perspective
30 November 2023 – 21 April 2024

Admission Free

Open:
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 5.30pm.
Wednesday: 11.30am – 5.30pm.
Sunday: 12noon – 5.30pm.
Webpage: Self-Determination: A Global Perspective – IMMA

Artists commissions

Commissioned artists are Array Collective, Banu Çennetoğlu, Jasmina Cibic, Declan Clarke, Minna Henriksson, İz Öztat, and Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind. Throughout 2023 IMMA Residencies enabled sited research and production supports for several commissions.

Art and Self-Determination: A Reader

The Self-Determination reader comprises some 30 texts addressing the theme of self-determination drawn from the 2022 International Conference: 100 years of Self-Determination and the International Summer School, alongside an introduction to the exhibition and illustrated list of works.

Conference: 100 years of Self-Determination

An international research conference took place from 9 to 11 November 2022, organised by Lisa Moran (Curator: Engagement and Learning, IMMA); Sophie Byrne (IMMA Talks and Public Programmes) and Stephen O’Neill (IMMA/IRC Enterprise Postdoctoral Research Fellow). Available to watch back are key papers presented by invited keynote speakers and selected researchers, drawn from an open call for papers responding to conference themes – Self Determination Resources – IMMA

Podcast: IMMA Past Futures
A related podcast series on the shared site histories of IMMA / RHK co-hosted by Barry Kehoe and Stephen Taylor (IMMA Visitor Engagement Team), produced by Sophie Byrne (IMMA Talks and Public Programmes) is available to listen back too – IMMA Past Futures Podcast – IMMA

Poetry as Commemoration

IMMA is collaborating with the project Poetry as Commemoration, an initiative of the Irish Poetry Reading Archive at University College Dublin and supported by the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 programme. Poetry as Commemoration is a project led by Catherine Wilsdon that encourages creative engagement with the material history of the revolutionary period. Throughout the exhibition the Poetry as Commemoration Jukebox will be installed in the Courtyard at IMMA – the jukebox is a sound installation that animates public spaces through the medium of poetry. Poet-led workshops will also run over the course of the exhibition.