merrion street

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, has today (Wednesday) announced that she is approving a grant of €371,000 to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). The money will be used to carry out essential improvement works at the Garden Galleries at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham which will be used to house a world class Lucian Freud exhibition later this year.

Speaking today Minister Humphreys said:
“Securing 50 works by Lucian Freud for a five year exhibition is a major coup for IMMA, and I believe this exhibition has the potential to open up the Museum of Modern Art to an even wider audience.

“The works, which are on loan from private collections, will be presented in a dedicated Freud Centre in the Garden Galleries for five years. They will include a selection of Freud's finest paintings as well as numerous etchings ranging across six decades.

“In order to house the art works in suitable and secure conditions, works must be carried out on the Garden Galleries. I am very pleased to be in a position to approve this capital funding of €371,000, which will allow the space to be prepared to house this world class exhibition.

“This funding injection will upgrade the Garden Galleries to a standard fit for art work of the calibre of the Freud exhibition, and will also of course expand IMMA’s exhibition space for the years ahead. The Freud project offers huge opportunities for Irish audiences of all ages to experience the work of this great artist and I look forward to seeing how the project evolves over the next five years."

Notes to Editor:

The works on the Garden Galleries will include:
· the installation of new gallery lighting; and
· upgrading of environmental conditions
Visitor numbers to IMMA in 2015 were 485,702.

Current exhibitions include
· The Passion According to Carol Rama 24 March - 1 August 2016
· Patrick Hennessy: De Profundis 24 March - 24 July 2016
· IMMA Collection: A Decade 28 April 2016 - 8 January 2017