Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in

Temple Bar, Dublin Temple Bar ( ga, Barra an Teampaill) is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to t ...

, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance.

History

Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a three-week festival at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Ge ...

in 1966. Project Arts Centre was the first such arts centre in Ireland. The Centre had several homes before it opened for business in a converted factory on East Essex Street in 1975, after numerous issues regarding funding. This building was demolished in 1998 and a new purpose-built space containing two auditoriums, a gallery and a bar opened on the same site in 2000, as part of the second phase of the regeneration of Temple Bar. The presence of the Centre, along with a number of other cultural institutions in Temple Bar such as

Irish Film Institute The Irish Film Institute (IFI; ), formerly the Irish Film Centre, is both an arthouse cinema and a national body that supports Irish film heritage. The IFI presents film festivals, retrospectives and curated seasons, along with independent, ...

, the Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Black Church Print Studios, the Gallery of Photography, and Temple Bar Music Centre (now the Button Factory), inspired the regeneration of the area as a cultural quarter.

The Centre

The centre has been a venue for many of the city's performing arts festivals including Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Writers Festival,

Dublin Fringe Festival The Dublin Fringe Festival is an annual curated arts festival in Dublin, Ireland focusing mainly on theatre. The festival allows artists to submit their work via an application which is subsequently reviewed by the programme manager. The festiva ...

and

Dublin Theatre Festival The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialised theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. ...

. Since the Irish recession there has been an emphasis on cross cultural productions. In 2018,

street artist A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acrob ...

Maser painted a mural in support of the Repeal the 8th '

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

' campaign, but the Centre was pressured by the Irish Government to paint over it.

References

External links

Project Arts Centre's website
{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland Arts in Dublin (city) Buildings and structures in Dublin (city) Arts centres in the Republic of Ireland Contemporary art galleries in Ireland Tourist attractions in Dublin (city)