Arts Centres
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-10
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Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I am disappointed. The reality of the situation is that we have seen at least 36 closures of independent arts spaces in Dublin since 2000 and that very few new spaces have been opened to replace them. While I obviously welcome the cultural capital scheme and the artists' workspaces scheme, it really is not at the scale it needs to be to meaningfully respond to the barriers artists and musicians face in trying to find studio and performance space. I highlight the positive examples of local authorities that have brought unused templates as to what the State can achieve if the Government just gives artists and musicians the space they need. It really will benefit not just the artists and the musicians themselves but also the wider public and will provide foundations for the growth of vibrant cultural communities that give life to our towns. There are specific examples the Government should look at in the cases of the artists in Ormond Art Studios and the Complex. An obvious example is 114-116 Capel Street, which is council owned and could provide adequate space to reaccommodate artists who have lost their spaces. The Debtors' Prison on Halston Street, currently owned by the OPW, is a space that is crying out for some imagination and initiative to be put into use. We need to be more imaginative and the initiative needs to be there to put it into use. We need to think about innovative ways to weave cultural practitioners into the fabric of their local communities. We need to think about the wider use of vacant buildings and vacant ground-floor flat units. We need to make the arts more visible and more accessible to all, and access to infrastructure is the first step in doing that.
Too often, artists are just dismissed as hobbyists. This world seems to get darker every day, and the light they bring to our lives is now more important than ever. We really need our artists and our musicians valued in this country. Simple artists' spaces just for them to be creative and innovative are really important. I will push this matter in the House over the next few months.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10