Ambitious plans for a new museum of modern art in the west of Ireland were derailed after the Government pulled the plug on a controversial passports-for-investment scheme.
The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) was involved in extensive discussions last year over creation of a new “satellite” museum in Ballina, Co Mayo.
However, the plan – as envisaged – was largely contingent on investment through the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), which the Department of Justice has since decided to close.
The idea was that IMMA would open a gallery in Ballina that could show exhibitions from their extensive collections and also other touring exhibitions.
It would sit alongside the new Mary Robinson Centre in the town and the historical Jackie Clarke Collection to create a “small concentration of cultural buildings”.
A building would be leased to IMMA at a “peppercorn rent” and would be renovated and laid out to specifications suitable for a modern art gallery.
It was hoped the new satellite museum could be open as early as 2025 with IMMA taking over responsibility for running the facility and staffing it.
Council building
The planned location was in a building owned by Mayo County Council, which is currently in a “poor state of repair”.
A briefing note said: “It is proposed that a new company be formed … to raise the money required to purchase and renovate the building.
“The cost of the purchase and renovation is estimated at [redacted]. [Promoters are] proposing that the [money] be raised from the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) run by Department of Justice.”
According to the briefing, the promoters of the scheme had already been in touch with a firm, who specialised in the IIP and were confident that investors could be found.
IMMA said there would be running costs associated with the plan, and entry fees would be unlikely to be charged.
However, there was the possibility of developing a café in the courtyard of the building, as well as raising further money through philanthropy.
The briefing said: “The addition of IMMA would be seen as positive to the creation of a cultural hub in Ballina.”
It said other major museums in Britain and France, like the Tate and the Centre Pompidou, had successfully created satellites outside of London and Paris.
A risk analysis said the use of the Immigrant Investor Programme scheme could cause controversy as it had attracted public criticism as a “passport-purchase avenue”.
“IMMA will seek to be selective of the IIP investors, as some may be deemed unsuitable,” said the briefing. “This could prolong the fundraising and could invite controversy.”
Social housing
Concerns were also flagged about the proposed property because despite being in ownership of Mayo County Council, it had originally been purchased for social housing.
“The representatives of Mayo County Council that IMMA has met are supportive of the project, but there is a risk that some members [of the council] may not wish to sell the property,” said the briefing.
In other records, questions were raised over how the deal would be structured and who would have ultimate ownership and control of the property.
IMMA also said it did not currently have the resources available and that the best option open to them would be additional funding from the state.
In a statement, an IMMA spokesperson said: “[The museum] does not receive allocated funding for fixed projects that go beyond IMMA’s national loans programme, and such a proposal had not been given consideration in the development of IMMA’s new strategy.
“The Board of IMMA has briefed the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on the proposal. The Department has referred the project back to the proposers following the closure of the IIP programme on which the original proposal depended.”
