imoca | Irish Museum of Contemporary Art
Established in 2007, The Irish Museum of Contemporary Art (IMOCA) is an artist-led organisation. Actively exercising a flexible model and framework, allowing us to change, adapt, respond to, and promote developing or shifting trends in technology and society.
We are dedicated to promoting and developing contemporary art and artists in Ireland. IMOCA seeks to develop the educational opportunities, engagement and enjoyment of contemporary art in Ireland, as well as in the larger global community.
To encourage continued development, experimentation and innovation, IMOCA actively supports artists, other art organisations and groups working and experimenting with new and emergent art practices. IMOCA does this through the provision of residencies, resources of space and materials, workshops and seminars, consultation and exhibition opportunities.
IMOCA is committed to the establishment, preservation and documentation of a permanent collection of work that accurately and authentically represent the historical course of contemporary art while simultaneously supporting speculation and forecasts of future trends.
imoca | Board of Direction
K. Bear Koss - Director
K Bear Koss is an artist and writer who has worked with community-based non-profit organisations and arts projects in several different countries over the past ten years. Koss came to Ireland from Tucson, Arizona in 2004 to complete an MFA in Virtual Realities at NCAD, and has been exhibiting and working from Dublin ever since. Besides co-founding IMOCA, he is also the director of Moxie Studios, a not-for-profit arts resource organisation, and is pursuing a PhD at Ulster University in Belfast.
Benjamin Gaulon - Communication
Benjamin Gaulon is a researcher, artist and has a broad experience of acting as art consultant, curator, public and conference speaker, graphic designer and art college lecturer. Benjamin Gaulon is also organiser / Curator for Data 2.0 (Dublin Art and Technology Association) and co-founder and co-director of IMOCA (Irish Museum of Contemporary Art). Benjamin belongs to the young generation of artists in the field of technological and new media art, that, adhering to a DIY-ideology, loves to make physical pieces. His works mostly involves the design of tangible interfaces, custom hardware, and aims at performances where the audience plays an active part. His attitude towards technology is that we now have so many tools and electronic parts available – partly to be found in the rubbish bins – that one can built custom devices to one’s own taste.Homepage: www.recyclism.com
imoca | Board of Advisors
Ivan Twohig
Ivan Twohig is an interdisciplinary artist based in Dublin. Ivan holds a BA in sculpture and in 2008 received a MA in Art in the Digital World from NCAD. His work has been exhibited internationally and has been included in publications in Ireland, Germany and China. He works across a range of media including sculpture, installation, electronic art, and video. He has also worked on various public art commissions and designs websites for artists and art related projects.Homepage: www.ivantwohig.com
Leah Hilliard
Leah Hilliard is an artist whose practice is in rooted performance — from spoken word to digital image. She the co-ordinator, lead researcher and writer for the MA Art in the Digital World at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and a Public Art consultant. She has shown at the Liverpool Biennale and the Dublin Fringe Festival, and has represented Ireland at art and performance events, both national and international. Leah continues to be active as artist, curator, researcher and public art consultant. Leah also finds time to manage the stage production manager of the Alternative Miss Ireland annually charity event and has worked for a number of years on the Festival of World Cultures. Leah was the Artistic Programme co-ordinator and a curator of Arthouse Multimedia Centre for the Arts, creating events such as SEED, Aspidistra and FREEZE (Winter Projection Festival). An experienced event manager and a friend of Dolly Parton, Leah always carries a power drill and video camera in her handbag, just in case.
Cliona Harmey
Cliona Harmey is an artist who works across a variety of media including video, photography, sound and the Internet. She is currently based in Dublin and is a lecturer at The National College of Art & Design, Dublin. She has exhibited in curated shows in Ireland and internationally. In 1999-2000 she completed a one year artist residency at Arthouse Multimedia Centre, Dublin. She is also one of the founding members of Blackletter.ie an online open publishing system for artists. She worked for a number of years as a freelance artist & workshop facilitator for the Education and Community Department at IMMA as well as a number of other Dublin based organisations such as Artsquad & Tallaght Community Art Centre . She also worked on an Art’s Council funded Artist in the Community Project and a percent for art primary school residency programme initiated by Cavan County Council in collaboration with Kids Own Publishing.Homepage: www.clionaharmey.info
Saoirse Higgins
Is a digital media artist from Dublin. She works as a lecturer fine art at IADT. Her main research area is ‘Art in Contested spaces’. She is looking at various types of contested spaces for example: man versus nature, human versus machine, public/private, local/glocal. Through her projects, she explores the links between technology and our vision of the world. She is looking at the control mechanisms that are used to keep us feeling safe and the ones that do not. Usually her work incorporates physical interfaces with a mixture of sound, video, 3D and electronics. Her work has been shown at the Montreal Film and New Media festival, Transmediale, Exit Art and Location One Gallery, New York.Homepage: www.alumni.media.mit.edu