Annie Fletcher receives Honorary Fellow Award at IADT Conferring
An Honorary Fellow of IADT is someone who has an outstanding record of achievement in scholarship or practice, or who has contributed to public service related to the mission and vision of IADT.
Annie Fletcher was awarded the title of Honorary Fellow of IADT in recognition of her exceptional contribution to contemporary art, curatorial practice, and public culture, and for her belief in art as a space of dialogue, where artists, institutions, and audiences think together about the world we share.
After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, Annie began her career at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, working alongside artists who redefined how art could be an active, questioning presence in everyday life. In 2012, she curated EVA International, Ireland’s Contemporary Art Biennale, and she has served on international art juries, including the Turner Prize in 2014 and the Irish Pavilion at Venice in 2016. Her curatorial collaborations span institutions such as De Appel Art Centre in Amsterdam, the New Museum in New York, and SALT Istanbul, as well as L’Internationale network. As Chief Curator at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Annie helped expand the idea of what a museum can be in the twenty-first century. Through thoughtful and experimental projects, she explored how art engages with histories of colonialism, migration, gender, environmental change, and social justice.
When Annie was appointed Director of IMMA in 2019, she brought the same clarity of vision to one of Ireland’s leading cultural institutions. Under her leadership the museum has been re-energised, opening itself more fully to artists, audiences, and the public realm. Through initiatives such as IMMA Outdoors and the Earth Rising eco-arts festival, she has transformed IMMA into a civic space that is inclusive, dynamic, and responsive: a place of shared exchange and reflection on the world we inhabit and the worlds we might imagine together.
This achievement was recognised internationally when IMMA received the 2025 Art Museum Award from the European Museum Academy. The jury praised IMMA for its ‘outstanding commitment to exploring tough contemporary issues, without compromising artistic integrity and quality.’
IADT President, David Smith said “At IADT, we believe, as Annie does, that creative practice is a vital public good: one that challenges us to imagine fairer, more sustainable, and more humane futures. Her work exemplifies the kind of creative and critical citizenship that IADT seeks to nurture in all our students.
On behalf of everyone at IADT, I offer my warmest congratulations and deepest thanks for your contribution to cultural life in Ireland and beyond. It is a privilege to confer upon you the title of Honorary Fellow of the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.”