Praxis Statement on the Closure of Vital Dublin Art Spaces
Praxis is very concerned to learn of the imminent closure of two vital Dublin art spaces, Ormond Art Studios, a self organised visual art studio and The Complex, a large venue housing a multi disciplinary gig venue, gallery, theatre and artists studios. Artists in the Complex were given just over a month’s notice to leave over the busy Christmas period. Both venues are important places of work for artists and arts workers. Their closure will greatly affect the well being, ability to work and livelihoods of numerous artists and arts workers. It will also increase pressure on the already limited public resources available to independent and unassociated artists. Yet again, our political class is siding with profit over people.
In April of this year members of Praxis from the Artists Working Space Group published a survey on artists working spaces in Ireland. The survey has highlighted what is unsurprising to anyone who works in the arts sector: there is a scarcity of working space for artists and much of what exists is unaffordable. Over 40% of respondents have considered leaving Ireland to find more affordable working spaces. Less than half of the respondents were currently renting a studio. Reasons for not renting a studio varied depending on discipline, but typically centred on affordability and availability. The respondents who had a designated working space reported that it had significantly benefited their careers and creativity. Losing some of the few remaining working spaces in Dublin in the current context is highly detrimental for arts workers.
This situation highlights the extreme precarity of arts infrastructure in Dublin and throughout the entire country. The closure of both spaces will mean many artists and arts workers will be without a place to work, entering a rental market that is already in very short supply and extortionately priced. Local authorities and state bodies can and should have an active role in protecting existing cultural spaces and fostering new ones. The Complex was the only venue of its size and kind in the city. Losing a multidisciplinary arts space of this type has devastating impacts on the development of arts communities, of artists’ practices and on the entire ecosystem surrounding the development of the arts. Something needs to happen.
Demands:
Dublin City Council and the Government need to take a proactive role addressing the situation with Ormond Studios and The Complex. Until the situation is resolved artists who had studio space in either Ormond Art Studios or The Complex must be re-accommodated in unused buildings owned by DCC. There are buildings available to the council that are perfectly suitable to do this, with 114-116 Capel St being a perfect example. Other state organisations, like the OPW, should also be putting their infrastructural assets to use to provide artist studio and performance spaces. This is an emergency. It is shameful that the state would withhold such vital infrastructure when it could be put to vibrant use by arts communities.
In Praxis we believe that as artists and arts workers we are best equipped to organise for better working spaces, pay and conditions through a trade union model. Divided we beg, united we bargain. Join Praxis today!
https://www.praxisunion.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Artists-Working-Space-Survey_Praxis-2025.pdf
