2016 exhibition programme highlights

IMMA is pleased to announce highlights from our 2016 exhibition programme which includes new commissions by Duncan Campbell, Simon Fujiwara, Jaki Irvine and Grizedale Arts, new curatorial projects from Sumesh Sharma and Kate Strain and solo exhibitions from Emily Jacir, Carol Rama, Patrick Hennessy and—as part of a landmark five-year project—Lucian Freud.

2016 is a commemoration year in Ireland that reflects on the 1916 Rising—a major rebellion which attempted to overthrow British rule and create an autonomous Irish Republic. The focus of IMMA’s 2016 programme is to celebrate the radical thinkers and activists who paved the way for courageous social change in Ireland and beyond, whilst reflecting on the artistic and cultural community who played an active role in the period leading up to 1916. They imagined creativity as central to the new society and in 2016 we consider their legacy and their ideals, many of which we are still working towards today.

In this context IMMA have commissioned a number of leading artists to create and present new work including Irish-born artist Duncan Campbell (Turner Prize 2014), who is working on his first film based in the Republic of Ireland, Simon Fujiwara whose new project The Humanizer takes the life of Roger Casement through the conventions of the Hollywood narrative machine, exposing our modern day desire for the perfect hero in an age where everyone is somebody, and Jaki Irvine who is developing a new work around the many women who took an active part in the Irish Rebellion of 1916 yet were almost erased out of history. Echoing the role artists played in creating and articulating a new vision for Ireland pre-1916, an ambitious new project, A Fair Land, presented in collaboration with Grizedale Arts, will be developed and activated by a range of artists and creative practitioners with the aim of creating new, artist-led visions for a functioning future society.

These new art projects are presented as part of an exciting on-going initiative, New Art at IMMA, proudly supported by Matheson, which allows IMMA to continue to support artists’ vital work in a strand of programming that recognises and nurtures new and emerging talents, new thinking and new forms of exhibition making.

These comissions are presented alongside major solo exhibitions by Irish artist Patrick Hennessy, Italian artist Carol Rama and Emily Jacir.

We are also delighted to announce that the IMMA Collection has secured an important long-term loan of 50 works by Lucian Freud (1922–2011), one of the greatest figurative painters of the 20th century. From September 2016, the IMMA Collection: Freud Project will be presented in a new, dedicated Freud Centre for five years. An evolving programme of curated exhibitions and events will allow us to explore Freud’s role and legacy in 20th century art and what these works mean today.

A series of programmed happenings, performances, events, workshops, tours, and talks accompanies all of our exhibitions, in addition to a busy family and schools programme.

IMMA exhibition highlights 2016

The Passion According to Carol Rama
March 24–August 1

Patrick Hennessy: De Profundis
March 24–July 24

IMMA Collection: A Decade
April 28–December 31

Simon Fujiwara: The Humanizer
May 20–August 28

A Fair Land—Grizedale Arts / IMMA Residency
August 15–September 4

Invited Curators at IMMA: Sumesh Sharma and Kate Strain
September–early 2017

Emily Jacir: Europa
October 21, 2016–February 5, 2017

IMMA Collection: Freud Project, 2016–2021
From mid-September

Jaki Irvine: If The Ground Should Open…
November–early 2017

Duncan Campbell
December–early 2017