THE IRISH MUSEUM of Modern Art (IMMA) spent more than €25,000 on catering for its 30th anniversary party, new documents have revealed.

On 23 November 2022, IMMA hosted 160 guests including former Museum directors, sponsors and friends of the institute at the site in Kilmainham, Dublin 8.

The museum had opened in April 1991 but the the party had to be postponed due to restrictions which were in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A range of exhibitions had been planned by the museum in celebration.

In total, €25,008 was spent on catering and hospitality on the night – working out to roughly €155 per person. No other costs are detailed by IMMA in the documents.

According to Image magazine, which attended the event, the party included a dinner. It was hosted in-house, inside a glass marquee in the courtyard of the museum.

Separately, the documents detail that €214,769 was spent on the development of a convivial space – an inclusive area and which as the ability to cater to all types of people – at the museum.

Most of the work was done to IMMA’s reception and locker area. Planning and design costs amounted to €21,750 and the redevelopment took over €129,400 to construct.

Separately, the museum spent €56,792 on building materials and furnishings and over €5,700 on other bills such as consultant project manager fees.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media issued a grant to IMMA, which assisted with the works.

Collaborative architecture firm Culturstruction and Dutch design studio Studio Makkink & Bey individually developed areas of the project.

Their work was exhibited during a law firm Matheson’s ‘Creativity Hub‘ event at the museum last month.