About IMA
Brisbane's First Gallery of Modern Art
Founded in 1975, we were one of Australia's first contemporary art spaces. We run a program of exhibitions and events featuring emerging and established, local, national, and international artists. Our program takes in aspects of the moving image, sound art, and new music. We also publish. We receive major funding from Arts Queensland and the Australia Council. We are a member of Australia's Contemporary Art Organisations network (CAOS).
President
Our President is Richard Fidler, a presenter on ABC Radio Brisbane and former presenter of the television show Vulture. Fidler began his career in television with anarchic comedy group the Doug Anthony Allstars, who performed on such seminal shows as The Big Gig and DAAS Kapital. In 1997 and 1998, he wrote and presented Race around the World.
Fidler also works in digital media, winning an AIMIA award for his work on Real Wild Child, an interactive history of Australian rock 'n' roll.
... and Board
Peter Alwast, Tom Burke, Anna Glass (Treasurer), Timothy Hill, Crow Hirst, John Kotzas (Vice President), Andrew McNamara, Kim Machan, Douglas Quayle, Richard Martin, Dirk Yates, Jay Younger, Miranda Wallace, and Ian Were.
Director
Robert Leonard joined the IMA in September 2005. He came from New Zealand where he worked as a curator at Wellington's National Art Gallery, New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and Auckland Art Gallery. From 1997 to 2002 he directed Auckland’s Artspace. In 1992, he curated Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art for Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, and, in 2005, he co-curated Mixed-up Childhood for Auckland Art Gallery, which included Louise Bourgeois, Robert Gober, Mike Kelley, Mary Kelly, Henry Darger, Christian Boltanski, Grayson Perry, Sally Mann, and Jake and Dinos Chapman. He curated the New Zealand representation for Brisbane's Asia-Pacific Triennial in 1999, for Turin's Arte Guarene in 2000, for the Sao Paulo Biennale in 2002, and for the Venice Biennale in 2003.
Asked about his approach to programing, he says: 'I want to balance my love of detailed exhibition making (developed in my museum work) with coal-face responsiveness, high-turnover, and direct collaboration with artists. I am interested in the radical relativism of contemporary art, the fact everything is up for grabs, but also understand that all new moves are always read against a tradition, a canon, and will transform or succumb to it. I appreciate art that stands the test of time but I am equally into art that is right here, right now. A program needs to be not only full of good art but addressed to its context: responsive. It has to feed the scene.'
... and Staff
Anna Zammit, Acting Program Manager / Administration Coordinator
Katrina Stubbs, Publications Designer
Ross Manning, Program Assistant
Dhana Merritt, Administration Assistant
Jewel Mackenzie, Bookkeeper
Evie Franzidis, Editor
... and Advisors
Lawrence English, Sound Art
OtherFilm (Sally Golding, Joel Stern, Danni Zuvella), Experimental Film and Expanded Cinema
... and Interns
Elisa Carmichael (V Raw Intern) and Ella Rosenberg
... and Volunteers
Paola Beretta, Stephanie Bourgeios, Robin Browne, Andrew Cain, Elisa Carmichael, Sarah D’Ardenne, Sophia Dique, Nadia Dougherty, Sophia Edwards, Alison Ellacott, Jennifer Hall, Lorelaine Horsfall, Dina Ibrahim, Nadira Ilana, Kay Lawrence, Emily Lush, Holly McGuire, Jack Murphy, Alana Phelan, Soulla Porffyriov, Julia Rodwell, Maria Emilia Sauri, Daneale Scandrett, Katie Stack, Chanthana Teeratha, Lin Wang, Lucinda Wolber, Dani Woolbank, and Akiko Yamasaki.
Residencies
We organise at least three artist residencies each year: an international, a national, and a regional residency.
MONO and microMONO
Our sound/new-music performance programs are curated by Lawrence English (::Room 40::). Mono, experimental sound; microMONO echoes of music.
Proposals
Our program is drafted twelve to eighteen months in advance in order to meet the deadlines for our funding applications. The program is curatorially driven: the director invites artists and curators to make shows. While we do not work from proposals , we remain open to them. There are no deadlines, set procedures, forms or criteria. We do not return unsolicited material and only respond if we wish to proceed. Gallery plans.
Appointments with Artists
The Director only meets with artists who are involved in the program. He does not meet to offer general feedback or professional advice, which can be sought from Artworkers. The Director only writes references for artists and curators that he has worked with.
Education and Group Visits
We provide a range of education services for secondary schools, universities, and art schools. The Director and staff are always happy to talk about current exhibitions and the organisation. We are well-equipped to receive groups, but it's good to give us a few days notice. Book here.
Art Teachers Day
Every November we collaborate with the Education Department to organise Art Teachers Day, a get-together for Queensland secondary school art teachers. It's a valuable opportunity to hear artists and gallerists speak on their work and to compare notes with colleagues. Contact Anna.
Bookstore
We sell our publications and the latest art, design, and lifestyle magazines. A flat fee of $5 for postage within Australia and $10 for overseas applies to all orders. We accept major credit cards. To order Contact Anna.
Publications Exchange
We are a prolific publisher and love swapping our publications with other contemporary art organisations: museums, artspaces, dealer galleries, and magazines. Interested in exchanging publications? Contact Anna.
Volunteers
We depend on many forms of community support. We are especially grateful to our volunteer interns who assist with administration and gallery-minding. Our team includes regular and casual volunteers. For those wishing to pursue a career in art galleries, we offer valuable entry-level experience. Contact Anna.
Membership
Becoming a member is the most direct way of supporting us and keeping in touch with what's happening. Members are invited to all exhibitions and events and to our exclusive Annual Members Cocktail Party. Members enjoy a discount at our bookshop, key art suppliers, and entertainment and retail outlets around Brisbane. They also have the opportunity to get involved politically, to vote for board members and to stand for the board at the AGM. $50 individuals, $75 families, $150 premium, and $500 friend.
Sponsorship
We offer companies great brand exposure. Interested?
Venue Hire
We hire out the gallery spaces for functions, parties, product launches, fashion shows, and corporate entertaining. A beautiful well-appointed venue, it has over 900 square metres of floor space plus an external courtyard. Located at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane’s trendy Fortitude Valley, we are within walking distance of the CBD, Fortitude Valley, and James Street, with convenient bus and train access and nearby carparking buildings. We can accommodate up to 500 guests and our spaces can be sectioned off to accommodate smaller groups. Our competitive rates are based on the number of guests, the space required and the timing and duration of the hire. We offer a 15% discount on venue hire if our leading sponsor, Caxton Street Catering, is used to cater for the event. All hires must be accommodated within our exhibition program. Corporate members receive one free venue hire per year. Gallery plans. Contact Anna.