IMMA Launches REGEN Framework for Regenerative Museum Practice

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) has introduced REGEN, a regenerative framework developed by Strategy and Sustainability Lead Lisa Fitzsimmons. Presented at the Green Museums Summit 2026, REGEN shifts the museum's approach from reducing harm to actively improving ecological and social conditions. The framework is built on six principles: integrated systems thinking, place-centred practice, co-creation with community, regenerative capacity, circular metabolism, and indigenous and local knowledge. IMMA remains committed to government targets of 51% carbon reduction and 50% energy efficiency improvement by 2030, but REGEN adds Living Metrics—indicators like staff wellbeing, resource reuse, biodiversity on site, and audience connection—to measure thriving rather than just performance. Three projects exemplify REGEN: Earth Rising festival of eco-art and activism, circular exhibition production including a flat-pack plinth system, and community engagement focused on reciprocity. Fitzsimmons argues that museums are uniquely positioned to lead regenerative shifts because they deal in meaning, emotion, and imagination.