Statement from Josepha Madigan, Minister for Culture, Heritage, on Artist-Initiated Projects 2018

The minister made this statement about the Artist-Initiated Projects at Pallas Projects/Studios:

Minister's statement

"The Arts Council funded Pallas Projects Artist-Initiated Projects 2018 is an important scheme, particularly for artists with fledgling careers.

The arts provide challenges at all levels, demonstrating the variety of interpretation and imagination that exists. It demonstrates many different palettes, subject matter and styles of work. It compels us, the audience, to slow down, to stop and to take time to appreciate, to consider and to reflect.

This wonderful scheme, led by artists for artists, will provide us with a stunning display of diverse talent through the summer and autumn until November. I am certain that it will provide a springboard for the careers of these exhibiting artists, inspire others and demonstrate just why the arts are intrinsic to the very fabric of life in our capital city."

– Josepha Madigan
Minister for Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht

Artist-Initiated Projects 2018

The series of 12 x 2-week exhibitions between April—November 2018 will present exhibitions of new work by:

David Lunney, Austin Hearne, Roisin Lewis, Salvatore of Lucan, Emma McKeagney, Miguel Martin & Jennifer Mehigan, Robert Dunne, Marc Guinan, Sibyl Montague, Ella Bertilsson & Ulla Juske, Ann Ensor & Louisa Casas, Ann Maria Healy

For full programme info see here

Pallas Projects/Studios is one of Ireland's longest running artist-run spaces, providing much needed studio and exhibition space over 22 years in Dublin's city centre. Artists are a key factor in cultivating rich and diverse culture that enhances social lived experience in the city and as such PP/S has long advocated for the importance of retaining artist-led spaces as an essential part of this cultural fabric. The organisation, which began on Foley Street in 1996, has traversed the city, utilising and injecting new life into disused spaces, and has since 2012 settled in the Coombe in Dublin 8, where it has become embedded in the community as a key visual art and cultural resource for the area. PP/S have established a local, nationwide and international reputation among artists and organisations, and a public profile through successful and critically engaged exhibitions, publishing, collaborations and partnerships, and education programmes for schools. Recent projects include the 4-year research project and publication 'Artist-Run Europe', published by Onomatopee, Eindhoven in 2016, and the annual 'Periodical Review' exhibition now in its eighth year.

Artist-Initiated Projects at Pallas Projects/Studios is an open-submission, annual gallery programme of 12 x 2-week exhibitions taking place between April and November 2018. This unique programme of funded, artist-initiated projects selected via open call is highly accessible to artists, with a focus on early career, emerging artists and recent graduates. Projects are supplemented with artists' talks, texts, workshops or performances, and gallery visits by colleges and local schools.

Artist-Initiated Projects aims to act as an incubator for early careers, and support artists' practices at crucial stages, providing a platform for artists to produce and exhibit challenging work across all art forms. The model of short-run exhibitions with a relatively short turnaround time of 3–6 months is an alternative to the normal institutional model, where the process of studio visit to exhibition can take several years. Shorter lead-in times allow the programme to be quick and responsive, reflect what artists are currently making, and encourage experimentation and risk-taking.