052 BRIEF ENCOUNTERS
The Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin does so much more than simply fill its halls with fascinating work and its café with great coffee and cakes. It goes way beyond the norm to make its visitors welcome and prove the value of art and creativity to the wider community. Veronica Simpson reports
THERE CAN’T BE MANY contemporary art museums that could throw a short notice ceilidh in their courtyard and expect a decent number of people to turn up. But as I was leaving the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) – situated in Dublin’s Kilmainham suburb, so not on the city’s nightlife circuit at all – on a thankfully dry July evening, the ceilidh band was seated and practising its reels. Would anyone turn up when the gig started in half an hour? I was tempted to stay but had other fish to fry. However, the scheduling of this ceilidh, plus an abundance of other community events and enrichments that caught my eye on the museum’s scrolling events feed on the TV in its foyer, made me think: this isn't like many other contemporary art museums. I had noticed a large brood of mums and babies lurking in the IMMA’s restaurant, well after lunchtime. Could it be that they had attended the parent and baby art tour takes place on alternate Tursdays from 11am–12pm? I’d clocked the offer of ‘free yoga classes’ too. It seemed a call to Sheena Barrett, the IMMA’s head of research and learning, was in
order. For starters, how many people turned up to that ceilidh? Over 100, she said, though the school holidays had just started so usually they get more. ‘We had one ceilidh when 4,000 people turned up.’ Luckily, the cobbled courtyard around which the IMMA buildings are arranged could accommodate that many: the IMMA is set within the medieval buildings that once formed the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (completed 1680), which itself is modelled on Les Invalides in Paris. Its evolution since the 1980s represents an inspirational approach to retrofit by the Office of Public Works (OPW), with the museum officially opening in 1991, but new facilities and improvements added through to 2000. Te ceilidh is part of a wider music programme that many locals would know about, says Barrett – that is one advantage of the IMMA being set within a largely residential area. ‘Tere’s music every Tursday and every Sunday, some more traditional Irish, but the full breadth of different types of music… We had an amazing Brazilian touring group – they did lots of workshops. We have another group coming
Left Yoga in the grounds of the IMMA
Opposite page, from left Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s Air Conditioning (2022); Isobel Nolan's Deep Time Day tapestry (2024)
in September, who are travelling from Germany, slow travelling and performing all the way across Europe.’
Tese slow travellers may well be participating in another major event in September: the IMMA’s annual eco festival Earth Rising, now in its third year. Tree days of screenings, talks, workshops and activities are promised, exploring how to live in balance with the planet and our local ecosystems, bringing creativity into the mix in all its forms. Tis is also free of charge. Last year they had 1,600 attendees. Te story of the IMMA’s special
relationship with the local community goes back to its early days, says Barrett. ‘When it was set up the director had a strong vision about being connected in a very deep way locally. Te first education curator, Helen O’Donohue, went on to develop a whole department with really strong links with the community and even deeper connections with a particular social housing estate, St Michael’s estate. She worked with that community to develop the thinking on how we might build those relationships. Tere was a lot of partnership around programming.’ One of the inspiring programmes developed from this time was around Art and Ageing, especially ‘to think about how best to support people with early onset dementia and their carers’. Te IMMA’s team further enriched their approach to art and wellness with the support of Dublin’s Mercer Institute for Successful Ageing, and the Global Brain Health Institute, at University College Dublin.
‘We worked with them around our programmes that happen online and in nursing homes, and we have packs that can be sent out to people, that were been developed during Covid. We also have this programme called In the Moment, which includes breath work or movement in advance of looking at art work. Te invitation is really around experiencing art and mindfulness together – a real focus on
Right Alex Cecchetti's
installation The Journey of One Breath
KYLE TUNNEY
ALL IMAGES: VERONICA SIMPSON
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