The Touching Contract by Sarah Browne and Jesse Jones acquired by Irish Museum of Modern Art

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and the Crawford Art Gallery were provided with the funding in October 2020 to develop the national art collection, resulting in 422 artworks being added to it. The two institutions purchased artwork from artists living or working in Ireland.

The new acquisitions include artwork spanning from 1972 to 2021. The collection marks the first time in over a decade that substantial funding has been given towards building the national collection to reflect contemporary culture.

IMMA has acquired 11 performance artworks, the first time the Museum has ever acquired performance. In 2022 Sarah Browne and Jesse Jones will undertake a residency at IMMA, working closely with Collections curators Christina Kennedy and Claire Walsh, and conservator Brian Castriota to explore the approach necessary to prepare The Touching Contract (made collaboratively in 2016) for acquisition by the museum, for future re-activation.

Full list of artists included in the acquisition

Caption: Devising of The Touching Contract in the Pillar Rooms, Dublin, September 2016. L-R: Noelle Brown, Deirdre Murphy, Sinéad Keogh, Sarah Browne, Claire Barrett (in background), Mary Duffin. Photo: Miriam O’Connor.