Council to spend €80k on developing strategy for arts and cultural facility in Cork city
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Cork City Council is set to spend up to €80,000 on developing a new strategy to help make Cork “a city where artists can live and work”.
It will commission a new project to undertake a needs assessment and capital project identification for the development of a new arts and cultural facility in Cork city. Recent consultations identified “strong and consistent calls for more spaces for art in the city and particular issues around the availability of workspaces”.
“Under the strategic goal ‘Space for Art’, the resulting strategy includes the intended outcome that by 2026 ‘plans for a flagship arts creation facility in Cork City have been approved for development’,” it said.
The council said it wants to develop Cork as a base where artists can build a career which is supported by “an enabling arts and cultural ecology and enterprise”.
The project will aim to identify a site or sites for art facilities, and how much they may cost. It also must identify opportunities in areas such as the docklands, city centre and wider city area.
It must also liaise with key arts organisations, established and emerging artists as well as consultants for the Cork Docklands masterplan and the Grand Parade Quarter.
“Detailed consideration should be given to immediate need identified at 2023 with consideration for the longer-term needs,” the council said. It also wants details on how this infrastructure can be financed and delivered, along with running and operational costs.
Cork City Council expects the project to be completed in September.
Earlier this month, the local authority launched a new “island city” urban sculpture trail, which will see the installation of five artworks this year at sites across the city centre island in Cork. It said the artworks would remain in situ for a period of five years, forming a unique trail through the streets.
It comes as Cork County Council launched its own new five-year culture and creativity strategy through to 2027.
It said there will be many opportunities for the people of Cork to get involved, with schemes to support artists, designers, craftspeople and community and voluntary groups.
Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey said: “Our goal as a local authority is to make Cork County an attractive place to live, work, visit and invest in, and a thriving cultural and creative ecosystem is a very important component in this work. The Council, in partnership with Creative Ireland, will fully support the implementation of this exciting new strategy over the next five years.”