About IMMA’s Collection

A core element of IMMA’s mission is to build the Irish National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. IMMA has a Collections & Acquisitions Committee, a sub-committee of the IMMA Board, to oversee and approve IMMA’s acquisitions. IMMA seeks to bring innovative and creative artworks into the Collection to assemble a set of world-class works that best exemplify current art practice and provoke research into contemporary art and culture.

In the early part of 2021 IMMA continued to add works from Irish-based artists, financed by a generous grant from the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. This fund was to purchase existing work and was seen as a means to supporting artists during the pandemic. Through this fund IMMA, acquired 197 works by 31 artists over the course of 2020 and 2021 which included paintings, prints, drawings, publications, performance works, sculptures, moving-image works, installations, photographic work, and audio work.

Other acquisitions during the year included two works by artist Maryam Jafri and one work by Tacita Dean. IMMA received several donations including a body of works by Patricia Hurl and a series of etchings by Paula Rego, donated by the artist and her family through Ostrich Arts.