IMMA Announces Partnership with Irish Arts Center in New York

From Irish Museum of Modern Art.
21 August 2025.

IMMA Announces Strategic Global Partnership with Irish Arts Center in New York: A Milestone in Ireland’s Cultural Diplomacy.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is proud to announce the launch of a six-year international partnership with Irish Arts Center (IAC) in New York, beginning with the U.S. presentation of Patricia Hurl’s acclaimed retrospective, Irish Gothic. This collaboration marks a significant step in IMMA’s 2024–2028 strategy, A Creative Catalyst for Change, which positions IMMA as a Global Connector, committed to amplifying Irish creativity on the world stage through dynamic international partnerships.

Curated by IMMA Collections Curator, Johanne Mullan, Irish Gothic opens at IAC on Friday 5 September and will run for three months. The exhibition spans four decades of Hurl’s powerful and deeply personal work, exploring themes of gender, domesticity, and emotional resilience. Originally presented at IMMA, the exhibition’s journey to New York exemplifies IMMA’s commitment to sharing Irish artistic voices globally.

Publication Launch
Coinciding with the opening of Irish Gothic, IMMA and IAC will also launch the first dedicated publication of Patricia Hurl’s work, marking a long awaited and significant moment in the artist’s career. This richly illustrated volume offers archival material and critical texts and reflections on Hurl’s practice from Jennifer Higgie, Catherine Marshall, and Fionna Barber, and an interview with the artist. The publication was made possible with the support of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, who have supported Patricia Hurl’s wider practice through her Pollock Krasner Award in 2023, making its launch in New York especially meaningful. This marks a major milestone for Hurl and a celebration of her legacy on an international stage.

IMMA’s Leadership as a Cultural Global Connector
Further demonstrating its role as a Global Connector, IMMA is a founding partner of IRELAND INVITES, a groundbreaking initiative launched in 2023 alongside Hugh Lane Gallery and Culture Ireland. This three-year pilot programme brings international biennale curators to Ireland to engage directly with Irish artists and institutions. The initiative has already resulted in 14 Irish artists being selected for major international biennales, including Sydney, Toronto, Liverpool, Lahore, Bangkok, Helsinki, and the Hawai’i Triennial.

One of the most impactful outcomes of this initiative was Kīpuka Ireland, a week-long cultural exchange at the Hawai’i Triennial 2025, curated by IMMA’s Rachael Gilbourne. Through film, performance, and participatory workshops, Irish artists explored shared histories of colonisation, language, and land with local Hawaiian communities, positioning IMMA as a centre for research, dialogue, and global cultural exchange.

IMMA Director Annie Fletcher stated:

“Patricia Hurl’s monumental retrospective at IMMA was incredibly moving and I am so pleased that audiences in New York will have the opportunity to connect with her work. I am delighted IMMA is embarking on this new partnership with the IAC. IMMA’s role as a Global Connector is about more than exporting exhibitions. It is about building enduring relationships that foster dialogue, creativity, and shared futures. Our collaboration with IAC and our leadership in IRELAND INVITES are models for how Irish institutions can engage meaningfully with international peers, bringing Irish perspectives to global audiences while inviting diverse voices into our own cultural conversations.”

Irish Arts Center Director of Programming and Education Rachael W. Gilkey said:

“The support of Irish Arts Center’s our community has driven our transformation and enabled us to dream as big as this: to partner with an organization as central to Irish and international cultural life and as IMMA, to be equipped to display major museum exhibitions of such scale, and to offer work as striking and evocative as Patricia’s the room it needs to reveal the full expression of four decades of her artistic vision. We’re so excited for New Yorkers to experience this titanic career that’s finally getting the recognition it deserves — and for this work to greet and stir viewers throughout the Fall 2025 season.”

As Ireland prepares for its EU Presidency in 2026 and looks ahead to the Global Ireland 2040 Strategy, IMMA’s international collaborations will continue to play a vital role in shaping Ireland’s cultural identity abroad and at home.

Image: Cover of Patricia Hurl: Irish Gothic, 2025