DUBLIN.- IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, today (3 February 2026) announced highlights of its 2026 programme. It will launch with the work of Lebanese sound artist and composer Tarek Atoui, followed by Fisherwoman, Fisherwoman, a pairing of the distinct practices of Camille Souter and Alberta Whittle. Later in the year, a major group exhibition The Technologies of Peace 1990s – 2026, aims to explore the concept of peace through an artistic lens.

Other highlights include the renowned Sharjah Art Foundation Collection curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, and Eltiqa: How to Work Together? presenting the work of Eltiqa an artist collective from Gaza City. The IMMA Collection will travel to Paris with an exhibition from the David Kronn Collection, and Living Canvas at IMMA will screen a programme highlighting works from the IMMA Collection. New projects, events and performances will be presented as part of the popular Summer at IMMA and IMMA Horizons programmes.

Commenting on the 2026 programme, IMMA Director, Annie Fletcher said “There is so much to look forward to this year. Spring will bring the immersive work of Tarek Atoui to the Baroque Chapel, alongside the juxtaposed yet beautifully aligned practices of Camille Souter and Alberta Whittle. Across the EU Presidency, the IMMA Collection will feature prominently, playing a central role in the first expression of our flagship project, The Technologies of Peace, and appearing at both Dublin Castle and the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.

A long‑held ambition of mine has been to bring the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection to Ireland, and I am delighted that the renowned curator Hoor Al Qasimi will join us at IMMA later this year to curate this landmark exhibition.”

IMMA’s 2026 exhibition programme opens on 21 February with sound artist and composer Tarek Atoui known for his innovative approach to sound, performance, and instrument-making. Atoui’s exhibition is presented in two phases, comprising an installation Souffle Continu, in the Chapel that focuses on the tactile quality of the sound, vibration, and movement of “wind instruments”; and in the gallery spaces Sunflowers presents new works inspired by the rhythmic and material traditions of Korean drumming. Atoui will perform live to mark the opening night on 20 February, while a second performance will take place on 21 March by invited musicians.

Opening on 6 March Fisherwoman, Fisherwoman brings together two distinct art practices–of painter Camille Souter (1929–2023) and contemporary artist Alberta Whittle (b. 1980)–that insist upon working against the grain. Spanning a period of 70 years, the works in this thematic exhibition range from painting, collage and watercolour to immersive film, sculptural installation and live performance. As part of the exhibition Whittle’s film RESET (2020) will be screened, and a live performance RESET (2021-2026), with choreographer and performer Mele Broomes, will take place on 21 June.

Opening in August the exhibition Eltiqa: How to Work Together? presents the artist collective Eltiqa, in collaboration with the curatorial collective The Question of Funding, that includes Mohamed Abusal, Abdel Raouf Al-Ajouri, Mohammed Al-Hawajri, Raed Issa, Dina Matar, and Sohail Salem.

From September the exhibition The Technologies of Peace 1990s – 2026 will draw parallels, through the lens of artistic practices, between Ireland’s complex political history with those of their European counterparts that have had similar trajectories in transitioning from post-conflict into democratic states of peace and stability. The period from 1990s to the present day has been marked by significant political and social changes in Ireland, particularly in the context of the conflict in the North of Ireland and the subsequent peace process. This exhibition seeks to reflect on these changes through the lens of artistic practice and cultural expression, situating Ireland’s experience within a broader international context.

In November IMMA is proud to present an exhibition in collaboration with the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection that platforms artistic practices and commissions from Palestine and neighbouring countries. The exhibition brings together paintings, sculptures, installations, and video works dating from the 1960s to the present; works that trace the enduring challenges faced by Palestinian communities and their continued assertions of hope and agency. The exhibition includes a focus on Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara (1933 – 2020).

IMMA’s Permanent Collection exhibition IMMA Collection: Art as Agency continues in 2026 and will present a new installation by John Lalor, Moment of Surrender 2016-2021, conceived as a novel told across three mediums painting, film and text. From 13 November the IMMA Collection will present Ireland in the world: ongoing dialogues, selected works from the David Kronn Collection, at Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris to coincide with Ireland’s EU Presidency and Paris Photo ’26.

Living Canvas at IMMA, a partnership between IMMA and IPUT Real Estate, Dublin’s leading property investment company and supporter of the arts, that stages Europe’s largest digital art screen on the grounds of IMMA, continues throughout 2026. The Spring programme includes screenings by Rabih Mroué: Zeyno Pekunlu; and film works in response to Fisherwoman, Fisherwoman including Surge by Farah Al Qasimi. This is followed by films commissioned by IPUT for Living Canvas; and a specially curated programme from the IMMA Collection featuring artists Grace Weir, Duncan Campbell, Nigel Rolfe, Jasmina Cibic, Mairéad McClean and others. Later in the year screenings will feature a guest curated programme by filmmaker Sarah Durcan, and partnerships with Liberties Festival, Coiscéim Broadreach, GALPAL Collective, the Beta Festival, among others.

IMMA’s popular programme, Summer at IMMA, returns with a vibrant programme of free events, exhibitions, performances, screenings, workshops and tours, running from June to August. The project Salarium by Ruth E Lyons will be presented from 9 to 22 July and includes the screening of Lyon’s debut film The Sea Inside Us, 2025, accompanied by a programme of events including a performance of the film’s score on 19 July.

IMMA’s EARTH RISING festival will take a break this year as IMMA will be one of the venues hosting the 2026 EU Presidency. EARTH RISING will return to the programme in 2027.

The second year of IMMA’s Dwell Here Residency will support research and engagement with more than 20 residents onsite in 2026. Six residents have received opportunities lasting up to 11 months during 2026, those artists are Addoley Dzegede (GH/US), Atoosa Pour Hosseini (IR/IE), Glenn Loughran (IE), Samir Mahmood (PK/IE), Paul O’Brien (IE), and Xiao Zhiyu (CN). One-month residencies have also been awarded and will be programmed around a series of three Research Assemblies. One-month residents in Spring are Andrew Cummings (UK), Maïa Nunes (TT/IE), Patricia Cronin (US), and Yujin Lee (JP). In Summer IMMA will welcome Lorena Moreno Vera (MX), Jaana Kokko (FN), Shivanjani Lal (FJ/AU), and Roots for the Future Collective, and in Autumn Stanislava Ovchinnikova (UA), Tom Flanagan (IE), Zena Cumpston (AU), and Huma Mulji (PK/UK) will join the Dwell Here programme.

From 26 to 28 February, IMMA Talks and the National College of Art and Design present a three-day symposium programme, How shall we do this?, which investigates feminist-informed approaches to radical archiving. The programme foregrounds new research that will shape a feminist-led art resource centre on the island of Ireland.

As a proud partner of the Global Brain Health Institute, IMMA Horizons hosts Creative Brain Week on 6 March, bringing together global leaders in neuroscience, creativity and innovation. IMMA Horizons will also partner with the Irish Heart Foundation, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary, for A Stroke of HeART, a new unique creative programme. This initiative invites members of the heart and stroke support community to explore self-expression and share their recovery journeys through art culminating in a public showcase at IMMA during Heart Month in September.

IMMA Horizons is excited to take part in the new Young Leaders for Arts and Health Ireland Summit, alongside RCSI, the Centre for Forced Migration Studies, Trinity College, Réalta and the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, in partnership with institutions and organisations across Ireland, taking place over two days in September.

Other projects in 2026 include Seen-UnSeen a non-visual exploration for people living with sight loss and a new Slow Art Video Series that explores artworks in IMMA Collection: Art as Agency.