The Institute of Modern Art announces its 2015 exhibition program
Institute of Modern Art
420 Brunswick Street
Fortitude Valley
Brisbane QLD 4006
Australia
T +61 (0) 7 3252 5750
ima [at] ima.org.au
The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is one of Australia’s oldest non-collecting public art galleries, and its history coincides with the development of contemporary art in this country. Its original mission from 1975 was to foster research and experimentation by Australian and international artists through exhibitions and publishing, and to educate the public about contemporary art. To mark its 40th anniversary, the IMA will embark on a year-long project in 2015, Imaginary Accord, which will explore this institution’s historical mission, while imagining what it could mean today and for the future, through a series of intertwined initiatives.
Hito Steyerl
until March 22
The year will begin with a continuation of the first survey exhibition in Australia of Berlin-based artist, writer, and filmmaker Hito Steyerl, Too Much World, featuring six works from the past decade, with spatial design by Studio Miessen. Steyerl is a leading figure in the critical articulation of how the Internet, digital technologies, and images are transforming life, work, and politics. Her videos offer timely, insightful, and entertaining perspectives on the plethora of images that swirl around us and are appropriated, edited, and recirculated in an endless and accelerating flow.
Imaginary Accord
11 April–11 July
Our autumn/winter season commences with the exhibition component of Imaginary Accord, which will aim to form new social, critical, and creative constellations by triangulating between manifold pasts, mutable presents, and potential futures. An overarching concern will be notions of “publicness” in an era increasingly marked by digital means of communication, commerce, and surveillance. Among others, Imaginary Accord will feature contributions by Agency, Brussels; Gerry Bibby with Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley, Berlin/Melbourne; Zach Blas, New York; Ruth Buchanan, Wellington/Berlin; Sean Dockray,Melbourne; Goldin+Senneby, Stockholm; Raqs Media Collective, New Delhi; Ross Manning, Brisbane; Marysia Lewandowska, London/Hong Kong; Hito Steyerl, Berlin, with spatial and graphic design by Leaky Studio, Berlin.
An integral part of Imaginary Accord is a series of lectures from February through December titled What Can Art Institutions Do?, featuring artists, curators, and writers, such as Anne Barlow, New York; Charles Esche, Eindhoven; Maria Lind, Stockholm; Nikos Papastergiadis, Melbourne; Terry Smith, Pittsburgh/Sydney; Raqs Media Collective, New Delhi; and Adnan Yıldız, Auckland, who will further examine questions around public institutions and civic life.
Patrick Staff
8 August–10 October
Our spring season features a major film installation by London and Los Angeles-based artist Patrick Staff, The Foundation, co-commissioned with Chisenhale Gallery, London; Spike Island, Bristol; and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. The Foundation is co-produced by Chisenhale Gallery and Spike Island, and explores queer intergenerational relationships negotiated through historical materials.
The Green Room
August onwards
In August, The IMA is pleased to be launching a new programming initiative called The Green Room. It will run in parallel and relation to our exhibitions program, providing permanent space for extemporaneous encounters. The inaugural projects will be announced in July.
Gordon Bennett & Slavs and Tatars
24 October–20 December
The year will conclude with an exhibition of largely unseen works by renowned Australian artist Gordon Bennett (1955–2014), Be Polite, and the first solo presentation in the region of the Eurasian collective Slavs and Tatars, Mirrors for Princes, as well as launch of the publication for Imaginary Accord.
For more information about the IMA and its programming, please contact Sarah D’Ardenne at sarah [at] ima.org.au, or call T +61 (0) 7 3252 5750.
The IMA is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, and from the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, and through the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian Federal, State, and Territory Governments. The IMA is a member of Contemporary Art Organisations Australia (CAOs).
Too Much World is presented in cooperation with the Van Abbemuseum and the Goethe-Institut Australia.
*Image: In order of appearance: 1. Hito Steyerl, Strike, 2010. Installation with 46-inch flatscreen mounted on two free-standing poles, video, HDV, 28 seconds. Copyright Hito Steyerl. Courtesy Wilfried Lentz Rotterdam. 2. Zach Blas, Face Cage #2, 2014. Endurance performance with Elle Mehrmand, 2014. Photo by Christopher O’Leary. Courtesy the artist. 3. Patrick Staff, The Foundation, 2014. HDV. Commissioned by Chisenhale Gallery, London; Spike Island, Bristol; Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane; and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. Co-produced by Chisenhale Gallery, London and Spike Island, Bristol. Courtesy the artist. 4. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island #2, 1991. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 182 x 182 cm. Courtesy Gordon Bennett Estate and Milani Gallery, Brisbane.
