· Major retrospective of the work of Eileen Gray marks opening of refurbished IMMA home
Friday 11th October 20123 - Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, officially re opens the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
IMMA is Ireland's leading national cultural institution for the collection and exhibition of modern and contemporary visual art. The main buildings housing IMMA at the Royal Hospital has been closed since 2011 for major refurbishment works, and these buildings reopen to the public tomorrow (Saturday, October 12th) with a major retrospective of the work of Eileen Gray, one of the most celebrated and influential designers and architects of the 20th century.
Minister Deenihan commented:
"I am delighted that IMMA, one of Ireland's leading cultural institutions, will now reopen in full at its original home in the historic surroundings of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. These buildings have been closed to the public for two years, and it is great that there are now going to reopen. The completion of this work at IMMA also dovetails with the expected commencement of major refurbishment works at the National Gallery of Ireland in the period ahead. These are important projects for Ireland's cultural infrastructure.”
Eileen Gray is one of Ireland’s most significant cultural figures, so it is very fitting that this extensive retrospective of her work will be the centrepiece exhibition at the newly reopened IMMA. The re-opening programme will also see an exhibition of works by eleven young Irish Artists, a solo exhibition by Swedish born artist Klara Liden and an additional exhibition of works taken from IMMA's collection which includes work by Dorothy Cross. I am pleased that my Department allocated additional funding of €35,000 to assist with the costs of these special re-opening exhibitions."
Brian Hayes TD, Minister of State at the Office of Public Works (OPW) also welcomed the re-opening of IMMA at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, commented:
"I am delighted to see the completion by the Office of Public Works of a major programme of works relating to the upgrading of the Fire Safety, Emergency Lighting and Security Systems at IMMA. These systems are critical to ensuring the safety of staff, patrons and the exhibits visiting the galleries. The systems now in place not alone meet the necessary regulatory compliance requirements but also significantly improve the gallery standards at IMMA enhancing its attraction for visiting exhibitions into the future".
Minister Deenihan also acknowledged that during the refurbishment of the Royal Hospital, the new Galleries, remained open, the Artist's Residency Programme continued on site, the café and bookshop remained open to visitors and three sculpture trails were available in the grounds. The reopening of IMMA is being marked by a weekend of celebrations, talks and activities. Key amongst the exhibitions is a major retrospective of the work of Eileen Gray. This exhibition has been designed and produced by the Centre Pompidou in Paris in collaboration with IMMA. It opened at the Pompidou in February of this year to great critical acclaim and was a significant component of Culture Connects - the culture programme during Ireland's Presidency of the EU earlier this year.