Ten artists to be awarded residencies at IMMA, Dublin

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The Irish Museum of Modern Art has announced the re-launch of the Residency Programme at IMMA. The Residency Programme reopens with refreshed studio spaces and living quarters and a full schedule of activities for 2014. IMMA’s Residency Programme has supported more than 250 artists and projects from 50 countries worldwide for nearly 20 years.

In June the Residency Programme will accept new applications for the 2014/2015 Programme, approximately 10 residencies will be awarded. The application process is an important opportunity for Irish and international arts practitioners to showcase their practice to IMMA. The selection panel comprises an international curator, an established artist and key programming staff at IMMA. The last open call generated more than 1,000 applications from around the world.

Artist Jesse Jones commented on her Residency:

I think the residency is wonderful and a great place to think and be embedded in the city but still have enough space and distance to focus on your work. I’m in a group show at IMMA later in the year, so it is great to be sited in the grounds and to have the access to the institution in preparation for this. It’s also an exciting interface between national and international practices with artists coming and going.

Participants in 2014 include Irish artist Isabel Nolan, working towards a solo exhibition at IMMA opening this weekend (7 June), and video and film artist Jesse Jones, exhibiting in a group exhibition at IMMA in the autumn. Painter/sculptor Sonia Shiel has returned from a residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York and is focusing on research garnered from the Art & Law Program at Fordham Law School. German artist Albert Weis is currently resident, pursuing his interest in connections and disparities between public and private spaces. French artist Stephanie Nava will examine the representation of the Famine in Irish history, while Australian artist Mikala Dwyer will use her studio to research and test new materials used in her large-scale installations.

In addition to the open call for residencies IMMA has also developed new programmes offering opportunities for arts practitioners at various stages of their career. This year sees the introduction of a 12-month studio award for a selected artist/project from Ireland, and a studio award for a recent graduate – this will be a shorter residency aimed at emerging artists, providing a chance to work alongside an exciting mix of national and international artists.

The Residency Programme will also continue to invite arts practitioners nominated through professional recommendations from partner institutions, independent projects and affiliated curators. So far this year IMMA has supported projects with Temple Bar Galleries + Studios, Project Arts Centre, EVA International, the RHA, MART and the Goethe-Institut, Dublin. In collaboration with NCAD, IMMA is also hosting a visiting research fellow, art historian and critic Nuit Banai who has written for Artforum and Art Papers.

The development of international partnerships with established residencies and institutions overseas is also at the forefront of IMMA’s objectives – with the aim to generate more mobility for arts practitioners based in Ireland. Inviting international curators for short research trips to connect with artists and projects is another developing aspect of the residency.

Upcoming participants for 2014 include: Becca Albee, Özlem Altin, Nicholas Byrne, Amanda Coogan, Priscila Fernandes, Fischer + el Sani, David Horvitz, Mee Ping Leung, Antonia Low, Deborah Luster, Nastio Mosquito, Vittorio Santoro, Naomi Sex, Edward Clydesdale Thompson, Nick Thurston and Lee Welch – with further guests and projects to be confirmed throughout the year.

In July the Project Spaces will support research and studio practices of selected residential artists. Unseen Presence creates a chance for artists to work directly in response to the institution, their environment and IMMA’s public. The exhibition will continue until late August.