DUBLIN, IRELAND.- Issues surrounding the ways in which people access contemporary art and artists in public museums and galleries will come under the spotlight at a symposium at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin , from 9 - 10 November 2006. Access All Areas…, will present a vast range of perspectives from programming policies to learning methodologies and institutional critique. It will also explore the role of national cultural institutions in today’s society, new roles for artists and audiences and artistic production in a ‘hostile’ environment due to severely limited funds.

Access All Areas…, brings together ten leading international educators, writers and curators from Europe, North and South America and China . These will include such noted figures as Carol Duncan, Professor Emerita, Ramapo College of New Jersey, USA, Dr Howard Hollands, Principal Lecturer, Art and Design Education, School of Art and Design, Middlesex University , UK , and Davide Quadrio, Curator and Director, Biz Art, Shanghai , China , amongst others.

The symposium, which has already generated considerable interest among curators, artists, educators and arts administrators, will be chaired by Dr Niamh O’Sullivan, Head of Faculty, Visual Culture, National College of Art and Design.

Symposium Schedulre: Opening Reception – Wednesday 8 November, 6.00pm – 8.00pm. Registration, wine reception and preview of the exhibition by Iran do Espírito Santo.

Day One – Thursday 9 November
Speaker: Carol Duncan, Professor Emerita, Ramapo College of New Jersey , USA
Title: A Usable Lesson from the Past: Newark ’s “ New Museum ” a Century Later

Speaker: Helen O’ Donoghue, Senior Curator, Education & Community Programmes, Irish Museum of Modern Art , Ireland
Title: Engage or Educate?

Speaker: Victoria Hollows, Museum Manager, Scottish Museum of Modern Art (GOMA), Scotland
Title: To be confirmed

Speaker: Luiz Guilherme Vergara, Director, The Museo de Arte Contemporanea, MAC, Niteroi , Brazil
Title: Why collect experiences? The communicative challenge of contemporary art as a mission for MAC

Speaker: Kaija Kaitavuori, Director KEHYS, Art Museum Development, Finland
Title: The role of a National Gallery in today's society

Day Two – Friday 10 November

Speaker: Dr. Howard Hollands, Principal Lecturer, Art and Design Education, School of Arts and Education, Middlesex University , UK
Title: Blackboard Singing in the Dead of Night: the loss of a pedagogic palimpsest from the gallery and the classroom

Speaker: Davide Quadrio, Curator and Director, Biz Art, (Self-supported and not-for–profit art center and Artists Residency Programme), Shanghai , China
Title: To be confirmed

Speaker: Maria Lind, Director of Iaspis (International Artist Studio Program in Sweden), Stockholm
Title: Re-imagining the Institution

Speaker: Janusz Byszewski, Curator, Laboratory of Creative Education, Centre of Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland
Title: The Art of Encounter

Speaker: Dr. Veronica Sekules, Head of Education and Research, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia and Project Manager, Visual Dialogues (2005-6), Tate Britain , UK
Title: ‘The edge is not the margin’

The fee for the symposium is €175.00 for organisations, €130.00 for individuals, or €100.00 concession (students, OAPs, unwaged). In addition to the presentations, this includes an opening reception (8 November), tea/coffee and light lunch at IMMA over two days and the symposium pack.

Contact details for bookings
Sophie Byrne , Administrator: Education & Community Programmes, IMMA, Tel: +353-1-6129919. Email: sophie.byrne@imma.ie. Book online at www.imma.ie.