The exhibition Staying with the Trouble, inspired by author and philosopher Donna Haraway’s seminal work, features over 40 Irish and Ireland-based artists whose diverse practices explore urgent themes of our time. Pushing against social norms, the works in the exhibition challenge us and attempt to make sense of the present, questioning interspecies relationships, ideas of transformation, and renewal. The exhibition challenges human-centric narratives, advocating for a multi-species/multi-kin perspective through sculpture, film, painting, installation and performance.

The exhibition follows Haraway’s propositions such as “Making Kin”, “Composting” and “Sowing Worlds”, inviting visitors to rethink their connections with humans, animals, and ecosystems. Other propositions include “Critters”, emphasising the agency of non-human life, while “Techno-Apocalypse” critiques dystopian views on technology, proposing a more nuanced, interconnected future.

Rather than passive spectators, viewers of the exhibition become active participants, encouraged to confront the complexities of our time with creativity and care. Through Haraway’s “tentacular thinking”, the exhibition fosters new ways of seeing and imagining, offering an invitation to collectively sow the seeds for a just and interconnected world.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a live performance series for one-night only in IMMA’s Great Hall, Baroque Chapel and Gardens in July. There will also be a screening programme of film and moving image works as part of Living Canvas at IMMA, running throughout May to September.