Artist Campus site at Dublin Port. Courtesy of Grafton Architects
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Background
In response to the critical need for artist workspaces in Dublin, the Arts Council and Dublin Port Company have been collaborating since 2022 with the shared objective of providing artists workspaces on a 5,000sqm site at Dublin Port. This extensive historical
site, made up of several interconnected buildings at the heart of Dublin Port will be preserved and redeveloped to provide high quality, adaptable spaces in which artists can create and collaborate.
Grafton Architects were contracted by Dublin Port Company to carry out a feasibility study of the site which worked to a Schedule of Accommodation provided by the Arts Council addressing the specific, specialised needs of artists from all artforms working
and practicing in Ireland today.
Artist Campus site at Dublin Port. © Ros Kavanagh. Courtesy of Dublin Port Company
The over-arching framework of the project reflects the objectives in the Arts Council’s 10-year strategy Making
Great Art Work as well as the Government’s Project
Ireland 2040 and the Dublin Port Masterplan
2040.
Aims
The Artists Campus will act as a national focal point for artist workspaces reflecting the Arts Council’s ambition to develop plans for a national infrastructure of artists’ workspaces as part of the National Development Plan. The main objectives of the
campus are:
- To provide an Artist Campus in a welcoming, inspiring, and creative environment, which fosters a community of artists
- To provide high-quality shared facilities for artists in a unique location for generations of artists to make work of excellence, scale, and ambition
- To improve the cultural offering of the city centre
- To develop a national focal point for artists’ workspaces
- To ensure a flexible and agile space which will support experimentation and development within and across art forms and between artists and others
- To repurpose original industrial buildings through innovative and high-quality design interventions.
With these objectives central to the design, the
Dublin Port campus will provide artists with the high-level facilities required
to create great art. Spaces will be adaptable to meet the wide range of ways
artists work including
individual practice, group engagement, community work and larger ensemble
rehearsals. Facilities at the redeveloped site will include studios,
sound-proof rehearsal spaces, fabrication spaces, specialist spaces and areas
for cross-disciplinary practice.
Artist Centred
The Flour Mills Campus will be a centre of work and creativity for artists in Ireland and as such artists’ needs are at the core of this project.
In early 2024, artist site visits were facilitated at the site in Dublin Port as part of a sector engagement process. Artists from a range of art forms and practices were invited to view the site and discuss the feasibility plans. Their feedback and input
will provide essential insights for the project as it progresses into the next phases towards detailed design and planning application.
Artist Site Visit at Dublin Port. Photo: Mark Stedman
- The Sector Engagement Report can be viewed here.
- We also have a list of artists and arts practitioners that would like to stay in touch with this project. If you would like to be kept informed, please click here.
We are proud to be working in collaboration with Dublin Port Company developing this important piece of cultural infrastructure in Ireland to support artists, to embed artistic practice within the Port, the local communities, and the city.
Contact us
If you would like to contact us in relation to the Flour Mills Artist Campus, please email:
Artist Campus site at Dublin Port. © Ros Kavanagh. Courtesy of Dublin Port Company
Artist Campus site at Dublin Port. © Ros Kavanagh. Courtesy of Dublin Port Company
Artist Campus site at Dublin Port. © Ros Kavanagh. Courtesy of Dublin Port Company
Artist Campus site at Dublin Port. © Ros Kavanagh. Courtesy of Dublin Port Company