Foreword

Foreword from Gina O’Kelly, Irish Museums Association

The fallout and impact of the pandemic has undoubtably brought losses to museums across

Ireland: income generation, jobs, and the erosion of on-site audience and community engagement. Yet it has also proved a catalyst for change.

Our museums rose to the challenges once again presented, continuing to provide services and engage with audiences while needing to restrict physical access (2021 seeing the longest period of lockdowns to date; in the case of many sitespecific museums, until September 2021). They took time to re-examine their practices and embed their research, exploring new approaches and collaborative practices. Long-term investments in our sector continued to materialise in 2021, following on from Butler Gallery’s move to a new permanent home and the opening of Ballinglen Art Museum in 2020. Waterford Museum of Treasures saw the opening of the Irish Silver Museum and the Irish Museum of Time, Wexford saw the launch of Johnstown Castle and Irish Agricultural Museum, and a number of museums – such as Clare Museum and Cavan County Museum – reopened with revitalised and refurbished exhibitions and galleries.

This was reflected in government investment, which not only directly provided new and refocused funding initiatives aimed at strengthening the sector, but also saw record funding being allocated to the Arts Council and Heritage Council of Ireland and the reopening of National Lottery Heritage Fund grants for 2021-22 after nearly a

year of focusing on emergency support in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Programming across our museums was recognised internationally when in November 2021 the European Museum Forum’s European Museum of the Year Awards announced the winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize 2022 as Nano Nagle Place in Cork (14 Henrietta Street, Dublin won the Silletto Prize in 2021). EPIC – The Irish Emigration Museum and National Gallery of Ireland were shortlisted for the Hands On! Children in Museums Awards 2021, while the Nerve Centre, Northern Ireland Museums Council and National Museums NI received the UK Museums Association’s Best Museums Change Lives Project award for Reimagine Remake Replay. The work of Irish museums was also recognised outside of the sector, exemplifying their crosscutting value: The Glucksman won Best Arts and Cultural Centre at the Irish Enterprise Awards 2021 and the National Gallery of Ireland was a Digital Media Awards 2021 finalist in the Best in Government & Not for Profit and Best Podcast categories. Cork Public Museum, Crawford Art Gallery, and The Glucksman were recipients of inaugural Traveller Ally Awards, and Cavan County Museum was recognised under the best ‘Centenaries and Commemoration’ category by Chambers Ireland’s ‘Excellence in Local Government Awards’. While our focus at the IMA is to continue to look towards the long-term development of our sector, we are absolutely committed to supporting our community as it continues to recover, ensuring connectivity, supporting leadership at all levels, and acting as a conduit between stakeholders. Our programming throughout 2021 tackled both global issues and those particular to our island, with renewed emphasis on professional and audience development and our advocacy activity: on raising awareness of the work of our museums to both government and public.

This strengthening of the IMA was enabled by an increase in our core funding of over 100% for 2021 that has been re-secured for 2022. This is a reflection both of our clarity of purpose and our place as the representative voice for the sector; of a strengthened membership that consistently informs us; and of democratic, open and transparent leadership within the Association. As we now look towards the IMA’s new strategic plan, building on the success of that for 20182022, there is no doubt that our membership and their representatives on the IMA’s governance body will play a key role in shaping our vision over the coming years. However, it is vital that this also be informed by wider conversations and debates around the role of the association and the landscape in which we operate. While this edition of Museum Ireland focuses on the experiences and developments of 2021, it is impossible to ignore current major political events, including, apprehension on our shores over the potential unravelling of the Northern Ireland protocol, along with the steep escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. As an all-island organisation holding humanitarian values at its heart, we advocate the roles that all members of our sector play in supporting peace and reconciliation; the protection of humanity’s cultural heritage; and in upholding our membership of a supportive global community. We urge you to continue to extend assistance across borders where possible and ensure that the protection of people seeking refuge on our island is upheld across all areas of our museums.