The centre officially opened at No. 5 O’Connell St in 1984 and has remained a lynchpin in the region’s arts infrastructure ever since. Spanning two Georgian buildings in the heart of Waterford City, the centre is known as being a base for creativity and arts development across many disciplines. Housing visual art studios, a sprung dance floor, a children’s workshop, A Little Room theatre development space, a fully operational theatre with state of the art cinema facilities, 4K digital projector, the centre also exhibits in two gallery spaces, its main and front of house spaces. We welcome over 35,000 visitors annually and we are proudly supported by the Arts Council, Waterford City Council, the Department of Social Protection, patrons and Friends.
In 2019 the centre made a successful application to the Dept of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the result is an ambitious refurbishment and repurpose of the ‘Studio’ building, No. 5. Here new spaces are coming on stream and spaces that were hitherto unused are having new life breathed into them. It is a truly exciting time for the centre as both its square footage and its capacity are expanding. This development was supported by Waterford City & County Council and will see genuine impactful changes and benefits for artists and the wider community in the years to come.
We aim to celebrate both the launch of this shiny new space and reflect on a tremendous 40 year history in June of this year. We look forward to bring you detail of those celebrations and programming associated with our Birthday!
