Members of the art world convened in the Masters Quarters at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham yesterday to hear details of the Irish Museum of Modern Art's 2006 programme. Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism John O'Donoghue, TD, was on hand to announce the particulars.
Large-scale exhibitions by such leading artists as Howard Hodgkin, Barry Flanagan and Michael Craig-Martin; a wide-ranging exhibition of Irish art from the 1970s, including works from the important PJ Carroll Collection, and a major symposium on access policies and programmes in contemporary art museums are all part of an exciting and diverse programme at IMMA.
Plans for the coming year, the 15th anniversary of IMMA’s foundation, also include a series of shows by prominent international artists, receiving their first solo exhibitions in Ireland; the first showing in this country of one of three film works by the acclaimed Irish artist James Coleman, acquired by the Museum in 2004, and an extension throughout the school year of IMMA’s primary school programme.
Commenting on the programme IMMA’s Director, Enrique Juncosa, said: “The second consecutive increase in our budget, and our collaboration with major foreign museums, has allowed us to develop an even more ambitious programme of exhibitions for 2006, which includes joint projects with both Tate Britain and Tate St Ives. In 2006, we are also going to use the magnificent grounds at IMMA in spectacular ways for the Barry Flanagan and Michael Craig-Martin shows."
Among those joining Minister O'Donoghue and Enrique Juncosa for the announcement and luncheon were IMMA Board members Eoin McGonigal SC, Valerie Connor and Frank Buckley, art critic Campbell Bruce, RTE broadcaster Tom McGurk, Mike Fitzpatrick of the Limerick City Gallery, Dr. Siun Hanrahan of DIT, Nancy Larchet and writer Bruce Arnold.
To mark the 90th birthday of the distinguished Irish artist Louis le Brocquy in November, a display of works from the artist’s own collection will be shown starting on 9 May and continuing into 2007. There will also be considerable public interest in the Magnum Ireland exhibition opening on 19 April, which presents some 140 photographs taken in Ireland since the 1950s.
For more info on the programme go to www.imma.ie
