Today, Photo Museum Ireland, the national centre for contemporary photography in Ireland, launches its four-year strategic plan. The strategy outlines a roadmap for the ambitious development of Photo Museum Ireland over a four-year period and is centred around further establishing Photo Museum Ireland as a cutting edge international-standard home for photography in Ireland. Photo Museum Ireland’s strategy is a roadmap for a sustainable photography museum that is the leading space to showcase exciting work by Irish and international photographers and is free and open for all.
The four-year strategic plan was developed by the Board and Executive/Staff Team at Photo Museum Ireland and approved by the Board.
The strategic plan will continue to build on Photo Museum Ireland’s mission to connect people with inspirational and thought-provoking visual culture and to preserve, curate and promote great photography, as well as supporting artists of today and tomorrow.
The Strategic Plan focuses on five key priorities:
- to build and strengthen a sustainable museum,
2. to build the capacity of photographers to create great art,
3. to develop the collection,
4. to promote visual literacy through an innovative education programme, and
5. to enhance the profile of the museum and Irish photographic artists and practitioners both nationally and internationally.
A key goal in the strategic plan is a new home for Photo Museum Ireland, as the museum looks for a larger building. A larger site will enable the museum to show more exhibitions simultaneously, as well as having artist studios and greater facilities for education and development. Photo Museum Ireland is in the process of achieving interim accreditation under the Museum Standards Programme of the National Heritage Council by 2025 This professional level of operation will ensure higher standards in the operations of the museum.
Other key elements of the strategic plan include creating artform development for photographic artists through a full range of supports such as residencies and young artist programmes and advancing a full education programme to engage diverse audiences to ensure the discovery and enjoyment of photography and visual culture for everyone. Photo Museum Ireland is also committed to developing a collection of work by contemporary photographic artists to preserve and provide a record of this work, and make it available for exhibition in Ireland and internationally.
“The board of the museum had devised and approved this plan to give a clear definition of the organisation’s direction and growth over the coming years. This plan will benefit both the museum and the photography and visual arts sectors, and we are excited to see the outputs and outcomes over the next four years.”
Photo Museum Ireland has an ambitious exhibition programme in place for 2025 and recently launched the Prix Pictet Human exhibition, which will run until Sunday, 20th April.
Other key dates include:
Photo Museum Ireland will present the Irish premiere of Sharon Murphy’s new body of work, Mise en Abyme, which focuses on Parisian carousels and theatrical décor during moments of stillness and silence.
Tuesday, 29th April – Sunday, 29th June:
Visitors will also be able to enjoy the first solo Irish exhibition of Emma Spreadborough, You Mustn’t Go Looking, an imaginative body of work that draws on the remnants of ancient tradition to address contemporary Northern Ireland.
Saturday, 5th July – Sunday, 24th August:
Photo Museum Ireland’s showcase exhibition featuring work by photographers from around the globe to submit works that explore the theme Reflecting the Real, questioning today’s image-saturated world, often shaped by AI, misinformation, and the manipulation of truth.
Saturday, 30th August – Sunday, 5th October:
The Talents exhibition includes Early Career Award Residency Artists, African-Irish Residency Artists and the winners from the Young Photographer of the Year Award.
Thursday, 9th October – Sunday, 2nd November:
Acclaimed photographer Steve Pyke’s landmark series of literary portraits, Scribendi: Irish Writers 1982-2025, has created a definitive visual survey of leading contemporary Irish writers, playwrights and poets. Encompassing over 70 individual portraits, this important series is a visual testament to the diversity and vitality of contemporary Irish literature.
Saturday, 8th November – Sunday, 15th February, 2026: