Senator Marie Sherlock of the Labour Party has announced a public meeting on arts and artist spaces that will take place in the Gallery at The Complex venue on Arran Street East in Dublin on 10 July at 7pm.

The meeting will hear from a number of artists and arts workers who will talk about their experiences. Speakers include Paul Scully from Kirkos Ensemble who will talk about the DIY space Unit 44 on Prussia Street; Vanessa Fielding, Artistic Director of The Complex; a representative from the Dean Arts Studio that was formerly based at Chatham Row in Dublin 2; and a representative from Richmond Road Studios in Phibsborough.

Senator Sherlock, who previously trained with the Cork School of Dance and was also a member of the Culwick Choral Society, said that the purpose of the meeting was to ‘hear the voices and experiences of artist collectives and what they have experienced in the city in terms of trying to maintain artist spaces, and then looking to what we can do about it.’

Speaking to the Journal of Music, she said that Labour would like to see a new cultural infrastructure company set up in the city to connect artist demand with vacant spaces and create ‘a matching system’; explore low-cost cultural mortgages for groups that cannot access lending from banks; and look at Arts Council funding for artist spaces. She says that almost 50 arts studios have closed in Dublin over the past 15 years along with a number of music and dance venues.

For further information on the meeting, visit www.facebook.com/MarieSherlockDublin or email marie [at] mariesherlock.ie. 

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See also: 74% Dissatisfied with Lack of Arts Spaces – Sinn Féin Survey