what is ima?

What does it stand for?

A question we often get a lot. Names are always hard to come up with (well, at least for me). They also seem to be the most important part of setting up a company. Countless hours on synonym.com trying to find something that we all liked, that was catchy and not too long, but still represented the core values of the company! Wondering how the others did it…

Sammy Ha • Jan 2024

In short, IMA stands for ‘I MAKE ART’. A statement, A battle cry! It means standing up for your craft and proudly saying what you do. You’re not a student, you don’t sort of dabble in this and that, You are an Illustrator, A Photographer, A Printmaker, A Filmmaker. It is a reminder to validate yourself. If you put enough passion and care into your work, then you are producing works of Art, a thing to be proud of!

So… What is it?

We are a small team made up of Filmmakers, Photographers, Illustrators and Fine artists. We set up IMA in our final year of University to bring different creatives together. We found that each of our backgrounds brought something different to the team. Different perspectives and experiences, and from this, we decided ‘Let’s bring everyone together!’

We all create things and that should be celebrated! That’s what our events are about. We want to create spaces that are accessible, comfortable and encourage people to celebrate the arts!  

With our exhibitions and film festivals we want to provide a safe space for artists to showcase their work, regardless of age, gender or experience. Maybe it’s your first exhibition, the first time your film’s been on the big screen - nothing compares to the feeling of seeing your work up and out there. Our artist talks let us get inspired by other creatives, where we listen to different stories and experiences. You never know who you will meet, and what you will learn. (People are nice, say hello!)

To conclude, we wanted to help give people the confidence to be proud of what they do. Say what you do! I MAKE ART.