Irish Museums Association


The Irish Museums Association is an all-Ireland professional membership body dedicated to the promotion and development of museums.
WWW Official Site𝕏 IrishMuseums

Purpose and activities

The IMA aims to support the Irish museum sector through activities that highlight the value of collections and the contribution of museums to society as places of learning, conservation, research, and interpretation. Their programme, funded by the Heritage Council and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, includes professional development, advocacy, research and dissemination strands: annual conferences, publications such as the sectoral journal Museum Ireland, relevant training, and original research.

History

The Irish Museums Association grew out of the Ireland branch of the International Council of Museums in 1977, established by a voluntary executive committee led by James White, director of the National Gallery of Ireland, to protect the interests of Irish museums. In 2004, it registered as a operating as a non-profit company limited by guarantee and hired its first member of staff.

Leadership

Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland and previously Deputy Director and Head of Collections and Learning at the National Museum of Ireland, is the current chair of the governing board of directors, succeeding William Blair, Director of Collections at National Museums NI in 2020. Former chairs also include Brian Crowley, museum curator at Kilmainham Gaol, Paul Doyle, registrar at the National Museum of Ireland and Dr Marie Bourke, keeper and head of education at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Conferences

The main annual conference takes place each year in a different venue with an overarching theme for the proceedings:2021 Decolonising the Catalogues. Online, 19 to 30 November. Contributors included: Dr Dan Hicks (archaeologist), Ananda Rutherford, research associate, provisional semantics, Tate, Oein DeBhairduin, and Miranda Lowe. 2020 Transforming Museums. Athlone, 21 to 22 February. Contributors included: Dr Patrick J. Greene, David Anderson, and Simon O'Connor.2019 We are all Engagers. Cork, 01 to 02 March. Contributors included: Dr Graham Black, Lynn Scarff, and Dr Gillian O'Brien,.2018 Collecting the ‘now’. Dublin, 10 to 11 May. Contributors included: Finbarr Whooley, Kassandra O'Connell, Corinna Gardner.2017 Cultural Tourism and the Contemporary Museum. Galway, 3 to 4 March. Contributors included: John Concannon, Michael Day, Lee Jolliffe.2016 Museums for Society: Towards a Cultural Democracy. Dublin, 26 to 28 February. Contributors included: Nazia Ali, Ciarán Benson, Dr. Marie Bourke.2015 Museums in Society: Navigating Public Policy. Belfast, 27 February to 1 March. Contributors included: David Anderson, Rebecca Blake, Siebe Weide.
  • 2014 Museums & Memory: Challenging Histories. Waterford, 21 to 23 February. Contributors included: Dr Guido Gryseels, Catriona Crowe, Dr Roisin Higgins.
  • 2013 The Porous Museum: Building Partnerships - Making Connections. Kilkenny, 22 to 23 February. Contributors included: Dr Brian Kennedy, Dr Vicki Porter, Mark Taylor.
  • 2012 Rising to the Challenge. Limerick, 24 to 26 February. Contributors included: Julien Anfruns, Michael Starrett, Chris Bailey.