Ormston House is a

contemporary art gallery A contemporary art gallery is normally a commercial art gallery operated by an art dealer which specializes in displaying for sale contemporary art, usually new works of art by living artists. This approach has been called the "Castelli Method" ...

and cultural resource centre, in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Ireland.

Background

It was opened in 2011 at 9-10 Patrick Street, Limerick. It was founded after art students occupied the ground floor of the 19th-century building on Patrick Street, and turned it into a gallery and cultural resource space with the support of the Creative Limerick scheme. They have worked with over 300 artists from over 25 countries to deliver over 360 events. The name Ormston House comes from the first self-service supermarket opened in Limerick city. It was opened by Jack Ormston in 1961 in a Venetian-palazzi style building on the corner of Patrick Street and Ellen Street. The building was later purchased by NAMA and, in 2018, the centre was under threat of closure after New York firm Cerberus Capital Management purchased the Ormston House loan book from the NAMA, and the site was put on the open market in July 2017. In response, over three thousand people signed an online petition to prevent the sale of the building on the open market. In 2021, the ground floor and basement of 9-10 Patrick Street were officially purchased by Limerick Council. Following the purchase, Ormston House was granted a 30 year lease from Limerick Council. Ormston House is a member of three international networks: Artists' Initiatives Meetings, River Cities Platform, and Trans Europe Halles. In 2018, the group collaborated with

EVA International EVA International (previously known as Limerick Exhibition of Visual Art and e v + a) is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in the city of Limerick, Republic of Ireland. It is known as Ireland's biennial, ...

with featured artists and projects include Kevin Gaffney, The Museum of Mythological Water Beasts, Stanzas, THEATREclub, and World Recipe Exchange. In 2021, their "Women of Limerick" mobile phone app, which placed women of historical importance on a map of Limerick (researched by

Sharon Slater Sharon Slater is an Irish historian and author. Her work primarily focuses on the history of Limerick, Ireland using the name Limerick's Life. Following a mentorship from Frank Prendergast she attended the University of Limerick and received an ...

), won the National Heritage Week award for Limerick.

Notable events and artists

Emma Langford Emma Langford is an Irish singer-songwriter from Caherdavin, a northern suburb of Limerick City. She is best known for singing folk music. She released her debut album, ''Quiet Giant'', in 2017 – for which she received the Best Emerging Artis ...

and Ann Blake - The Limerick Lady Podcast (2020-) *

Ceara Conway Ceara Conway (born 1977) is an independent Irish contemporary visual artist and vocalist from the Connemara Gaeltacht region in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. Biography Conway has a BA in Glass and Architectural Glass from Edinburgh Co ...

- SINOU (2019) *

Alison Turnbull Alison Turnbull (born 16 March 1956, Bogotá) is a Colombian-born British painter and sculptor. Early in her career, Turnbull worked as an invigilator at the Serpentine Gallery. Exhibitions Solo exhibitions * 2001 "Houses into Flats," M ...

- Compression (2016) *

Richard Mosse Richard Mosse (born 1980) is an Irish conceptual documentary photographer. Early life and education Mosse was born in Kilkenny, Ireland. He lives and works in New York and Berlin. He received a first class BA in English literature from King' ...

- The Enclave (2014)

References

External links

* {{Museums and Galleries in Ireland Irish contemporary art Culture in Limerick (city) 2011 establishments in Ireland Irish art Art museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland Contemporary art galleries in Ireland