Exhibitions > Past Exhibitions
Emily Jacir Europa
26 November 2016 - 26 February 2017
American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department, 1918. Gelatin silver prints. Visual materials from the papers of John D. Whiting; Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, [reproduction number, LC-DIG-ppmsca-13291-00103].
IMMA presents the first survey exhibition of acclaimed artist Emily Jacir's work in Ireland. Europa (the Italian and Arabic word for “Europe”) presents sculpture, film, drawings, large-scale installations and photography that focus on her work in Europe, in particular Italy and the Mediterranean. Renowned for work that is as poetic as it is political and biographical, Jacir investigates silenced historical narratives, translation, movement, resistance, transformation and exchange.
The first iteration of Europa took place at Whitechapel Gallery, London in late 2015. For IMMA, Jacir will present seminal artworks alongside newly commissioned projects which reflect the strong links between Palestine and Ireland, and the shared history of British Colonial Rule. These include her new site-specific project Notes for a Cannon (2016), which takes as its point of departure the Clock Tower that once stood at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. It was destroyed by the British in 1922, under the command of Ronald Storrs, the British Military Governor of the occupied city.
Works in the exhibition include ex libris (2010–2012), originally commissioned by dOCUMENTA (13), which commemorates the approximately thirty thousand books from Palestinian homes, libraries, and institutions that were looted by Israeli authorities in 1948 and ENTRY DENIED (a concert in Jerusalem) (2003), a full length concert performed by Austrian nationals who were scheduled to perform in Jerusalem and Bethlehem but denied entry at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport for “security reasons”. Jacir has built a complex and compelling oeuvre through a diverse range of media and methodologies that include unearthing historic material, performative gestures and in-depth research.
Europa is presented as part of an exciting on-going initiative, New Art at IMMA, proudly supported by Matheson, which allows IMMA to continue to support artists’ vital work in a strand of programming that recognises and nurtures new and emerging talents, new thinking and new forms of exhibition-making.
About the artist
Emily Jacir’s recent solo exhibitions include IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art), Dublin (2016 - 2017); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2015); Darat il Funun, Amman (2014-2015); Beirut Art Center (2010); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2009). Jacir’s works have been in important group exhibitions internationally, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; dOCUMENTA (13) (2012); 5 consecutive Venice Biennales, 29th Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2010); 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006); Sharjah Biennial 7 (2005); Whitney Biennial (2004); and the 8th Istanbul Biennial (2003).
Jacir is the recipient of several awards, including a Golden Lion at the 52nd Venice Biennale (2007); a Prince Claus Award (2007); the Hugo Boss Prize (2008); the Herb Alpert Award (2011); and the Rome Prize (2015).
In 2003 O.K. Books published belongings. a monograph on a selection of Jacir’s work. A second monograph was published by Verlag Fur Moderne Kunst Nurnberg (2008). Her book ex libris was published in 2012 by Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln. In 2015 The Khalid Shoman Foundation published A Star is as Far as the Eye Can See and as Near as My Eye is to Me the most extensive monograph to date on Jacir's work in English and Arabic. The most recent publication on her work are Europa which accompanies the exhibitions at Whitechapel and IMMA. Earlier this year NERO, Roma published TRANSLATIO about Jacir's permanent installation Via Crucis at the Chiesa di San Raffaele in Milano.
She has been actively involved in education in Palestine since 2000 including PIVF and Birzeit University. Over the past ten years she has been a full-time professor and active member of the vanguard International Academy of Art Palestine in Ramallah. She conceived of and co-curated the first Palestine International Video Festival in Ramallah in 2002. She also curated a selection of shorts; “Palestinian Revolution Cinema (1968 -1982)” which went on tour in 2007. Jacir is on the faculty of Bard MFA in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.
Associated Events
Artist Talk: Emily Jacir Europa
Thurs 24 November / 6-7pm / Lecture Room / Free
Emily Jacir will discuss her powerful artistic development and motivations in making her work. Jacir has built a complex and compelling oeuvre through a diverse range of media and methodologies that include unearthing historic material, performative gestures and in-depth research. Through an inquiry into processes of translation, the archive, resistance and movement, Jacir's highly influential work asks us to consider what it means to be a political artist.
The Artist & The State / International Symposium
Saturday 26 November / 10.00am - 5.30pm / The Chapel / IMMA / €6
In response to the centenary of the Easter Rising 1916 and the evolution of society and social ideology over the past 100 years, IMMA, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and Create’s 2016 programmes reflected on the role artists and creativity plays in society and the identity of the nation state. This symposium takes a timely look at the potential of contemporary arts practice to critically address the challenges now facing our ever-changing global society and systems of governance. Emily Jacir gave a keynote presentation as part of this symposium. Listen back here.
Curator Lunchtime Talk Series
Friday 9 December / 1.15pm-2pm / Meeting Point / Main Reception / Free
Join Head of Exhibitions, Rachael Thomas, for an insightful walkthrough of Emily Jacir’s exhibition Europa. No booking required.
Exhibition Resources
Read the exhibition guide.
Watch Emily Jacir talk about her work in her video introduction.
Listen to a review of Europa on Arena, RTE Radio 1.
Read Emily Jacir on her exhibition in Artforum.
To Be Determined (for Jean) is a workshop presented by Emily Jacir in conjunction with her exhibition at IMMA. Conceived and organised by Jacir the workshop was based around a student exchange with her students from the International Academy of Art Palestine, Ramallah. The students came to IMMA to work with Irish students from colleges around Ireland for a two week period in January 2017. Read blogs from week one and from week two by Jacir with responses from the participants in the programme, both artists and students, on their reflections and what the workshop meant to them.
Exhibition supported by
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