Garter Lane Arts Centre was proud both for artists and for the entire arts sector in May 2024, when Minister Malcolm Noonan officiated over the opening of Garter Lane Studios.
No.5 O’Connell St Waterford has long been associated with the arts locally, yet for years the building was essentially misunderstood, and it remained an underrepresented piece of sectoral infrastructure. So critical is its function within the region’s arts ecology that officially renaming it and giving it a long overdue lease of life, has communicated clearly to the public and to the region its legacy and its ongoing purpose.
In doing so, it was inevitable that we should look at how this ‘premier Irish arts facility’ would operate going forward. Through provision of clear processes of access for artists and groups alike using the facility, for the artistic community, the public, and the Centre’s many stakeholders we now have a very defined picture of the Studios, their use, and their output.
In working with the Arts Council to assess our capacity in this area given that the Centre’s physical footprint and number of studios had increased significantly, we applied the CBSS (Capacity Building Support Scheme) Award toward the researching and creation of Garter Lane’s Visual Arts Strategy, which encompasses Garter Lane Studios and Gallery.
The strategy set out here is a working guide for the Centre’s management team and for the artistic community. It clearly outlines with whom, how and why the Studios and Gallery have both defined routes of access to their use and the parameters for their fair operation broadly.
The team at Garter Lane is extremely grateful to Janice Hough (Curator IMMA) for her assistance in bringing this document to fruition.
Garter Lane Arts Centre greatly acknowledges the Arts Council for their support of this work through the Capacity Building Support Scheme, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for supporting the repurposing of this facility. (A project that has taken over 3 years)
We thank Waterford City & County Council for their ongoing support and dedication to the sustainability of artistic endeavours and careers locally.
Garter Lane would like to thank unreservedly the many artists and arts organisations who have placed their work and practice at the heart of the Centre.
Our City has witnessed so many great cultural developments and achievements as a result of their life’s work.
To read the Visual Arts Strategy document in full, it can be downloaded via the link below or you can browse through with the player beneath that.
Visual Arts Strategy at Garter Lane Arts Centre (pdf)
