The former Cleveland Crafts Centre, on Gilkes Street, catered for a collection of twentieth-century British studio ceramics and artist-made jewellery dating from the 1970s onwards.

Whilst construction was underway, mima programmed a series of offsite exhibitions and events including such artists as John Harrison and Paul Wood, Susan Pietzsch, Yuka Oyama, Graham Dolphin, Chicks on Speed, Martin Creed, Oliver Zwink and Mah Rana.

[7] MIMA has participated in the Tate's programme Artist Rooms, featuring exhibitions by Gerhard Richter, Jannis Kounellis and Louise Bourgeois.

[8][9] On 21 and 22 November 2009, the cast of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May – held an exhibition of automotive art at MIMA, which featured in the 5th episode of the 14th series of the show,[10] setting an all-time record for the gallery.

Lowry, Ben Nicholson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Adrian Piper, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Anne Redpath, Paula Rego, David Remfry, Lucie Rie, Stanley Spencer, Nancy Spero and Kara Walker.