A public performance action and meeting of stakeholders supporting the development of a quality interdisciplinary Art Space in Dublin 8 as part of a campaign for artist-led spaces; by Outlandish Theatre, Pallas Projects/Studios and the wider Dublin 8 arts community.

Maud Hendricks, co-director of Outlandish Theatre, made the following statement, followed by a performance action at the Rupert Guinness Theatre:

"This city is constantly changing.

Dublin 8 is morphing.

New structures are being erected to accommodate tourists and students first, and people who need homes second.

Dublin 8 has the highest population density in the city and this will increase dramatically over the next ten to twenty years.

Community contains the word unity.

We desire to unite all people with their different ways of being, thinking and feeling.

We need quality arts, cultural and community spaces to express these differences.

Dublin city's master plan promises green and cultural spaces for old and new communities.

However, arts and cultural spaces are disappearing throughout the city. They are usurped by the economic model of profit and change purpose to commercial use.

The securing of the basic need for homes, green, cultural and arts spaces needs priority over direct economic gain.

Artists will always find a way to exist, to create work, here or somewhere else.

The residents of Dublin 8, however, are dependent on visibility, accessibility and affordability of local spaces.

The elements are there to solve the current discrepancy:
The 5% for arts, cultural and community spaces per new development
Empty existing community and cultural spaces
Redundant factories and churches
International funding
The expertise of artists to run arts and cultural spaces.
But these alone are not enough.

We need an integrated approach to deliver high quality purpose built spaces for a thriving balanced and humanistic society.

We need a commitment.

Artists are natural entrepreneurs, and we propose that all the stakeholders, the developers, the city council, the government and the artists work together towards this goal:

The Rupert Guinness Theatre is one of the last structures of the workers' theatres in Dublin.

The site carries over 300 years of people's histories.

It is a landmark.

The building is not fit for its original purpose and needs a reimagining for a new cultural space.

To collectively develop this site into an interdisciplinary arts centre would be an act of love to the people who once worked in this area, the current residents and the future generations.

Dublin 8 is a destination, it is also a home for over 9500 children.

Great things don't just happen, it takes integrated actions, a government committed to delivering a state of the art facility, and all parties to invest in the long term development of this site for the growth and wellbeing of all people in Dublin 8 and beyond.

Why do people visit Paris, Istanbul or Dublin? It’s to experience people’s expressions and ways of being, not to visit business districts.

Artists are merchants of care and we are ready to manifest for the basic need of expression."

Art Space Now D8 is a collaborative campaign led by Outlandish Theatre and Pallas Projects/Studios.  At the public gathering a statement performance was made to an audience of local residents, artists, local large-scale developers, council and government attendees sharing the outcome of workshops held by diverse artists and community activists to which the thematics of public space and who it is for has been a driving aspect of their practice. In the workshops we conceptually considered (public) space and the role and responsibility the artists can carry in the manifestation of an arts centre in Dublin 8.   

“We are manifesting a state of the art interdisciplinary arts centre in Dublin 8 and we are looking to express the artistic value of this future space through collective interdisciplinary art expression, building on the history of five workers’ theatres in Dublin 8, the fact that Dublin 8 is one of the most densely populated and the least serviced areas in relation to green space and cultural arts spaces, as well as housing, whilst an eclipse of commercial developments are taking over public land.”

Maud Hendricks and Bernie O’Reilly, co-directors of Outlandish Theatre, shared passionately: “Since our invitation as first theatre company in residence at The Coombe Hospital, the importance of Art Spaces and the lack thereof has been integral to our work. In conversation with local and central stakeholders we continue to make a strong appeal for the basic need of cultural and art venues. Since our foundation in 2010, the situation has deteriorated with semi-arts spaces like community centres closing down, the demolition of key venues and the ineffective application of new spaces in semi-private and commercial settings. The solution is clear, the future venues exist and the visionary arts’ organisations and artists are ready to manage, curate and use the venues. The missing link is the investment and decision of the government to appoint the structures, invest in quality fit outs and by financially backing a long term vision.”

Workshop artists
Tara Bredemeier, Joan Somers Donnelly, Anthony Freeman, Marianne Marcotte, Aoife Ward and Eve Woods of Con: temporary Quarters, Mark Cullen and Eve Woods (Pallas Projects/Studios) and Maud Hendricks and Bernie O'Reilly (Outlandish Theatre).

Gavin Murphy and Mark Cullen, Joint artistic directors, Pallas Projects/Studios say: Pallas Projects/Studios have been at the forefront of community-based artist-run culture since 1996. We strongly believe in a vibrant, creative, liveable city, and that artists greatly add to the cohesion and vibrancy of the community in which they are situated. All over the city, artists and artist-run spaces have been at the forefront of revitalisation of neglected city centre areas, but have borne the brunt when these areas are developed. It is difficult to think of another sector where access to a workspace is so precarious: Between 2012 and 2022 over 27 studio buildings each comprising multiple artists studios have closed in Dublin city. Of these, 9 (or 1/3) were located in Dublin 8, and there has been no major Capital funding for new cultural provision in Dublin 8 since 2000. Now is the moment when the community can insist that arts and culture cannot be taken for granted but must be supported and protected where they are most relevant, in the communities where people live.