What a year it has been. None of us could ever have anticipated the challenges that lay ahead when we first gathered at the IMA for the opening of Marianna Simnett: CREATURE and Sancintya Mohini Simpson’s exhibition Kūlī nām dharāyā / they’ve given you the name ‘coolie’ back in February of this year.

Despite disruptions to our program, we presented four exhibitions in our main galleries, including CREATURE, long water: fibre stories, ‘the churchie‘ and INFRACTIONS. We also continued the IMA Belltower program with the work of Sancintya Mohini Simpson, Courtney Coombs, and Daniel McKewen.

This year afforded the IMA an opportunity to pause, reflect, and focus our attention on how we can best support artists during COVID-19. In June we launched Making Art Work, a commissioning platform that has supported 47 Queensland artists and collectives over four rounds. As well as creating new visual, written, and performative works, participating artists were engaged across all aspects of the project: from building the Making Art Work website, to installing projects in the IMA Belltower, delivering digital events, and designing the exhibition’s furniture.

As the IMA begins to wind down ahead of our summer closure, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our community, who have continued to support us during an unprecedented year. Most importantly, we also thank the many artists, curators and writers we have worked with throughout the year.

We are hopeful that next year will see the IMA return to ‘business as usual’ and look forward to:
—long water embarking on a national tour to galleries and art centres, including Gab Titui Cultural Centre and Millingimbi Art and Culture
—Presenting Khadim Ali’s largest ever solo exhibition in Australia, which includes a new co-commission between the IMA and the Lahore Biennial
—Kicking off the year with On Fire: Climate and Crisis and Cailtin Franzmann: to the curve of you, opening 30 January.
—Returning to regular opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm

We also invite you to contribute to the future of the IMA by taking part in our short end-of-year survey here: prizes to be won!

We look forward to welcoming you back to the IMA 30 January 2021, and until then wish you a safe and restful break.

Our warmest wishes,
Executive Director Liz Nowell, on behalf of everyone at the IMA