Cork opens a new chapter on its history and heritage this weekend

CORK is poised to open a new chapter on its heritage, past and present, this weekend. Nano Nagle Place, the unexpected oasis near the city centre, will unveil a combined bookshop, print gallery and map room.

The tape will be cut on the new bookshop, located at the entrance to the museum and Goldie Chapel at Nano Nagle Place, Douglas Street, on Saturday afternoon.

This facility will focus on Corks' history as well as its geography, architecture, and social life. Next to the bookshop, Cork Printmakers has created a gallery to showcase the creativity and talent of Cork’s longstanding printmaking community.

In partnership with Cork City Council, in the map room, there will be a display of a series of maps dating from the John Rocque’s 1759 map of the merchant city through to early 20th century plans for the city. Not only that, but a a series of antiquarian maps and prints, again with a Cork focus, will be available in partnership with Inanna Rare Books.

Shane Clarke, CEO at Nano Nagle Place, said: “Our development of the museum to include a Cork focused bookshop, print gallery, and map room is a key expression of our ambition to develop as a heritage centre celebrating Cork’s distinguished cultural history. It will give Corkonians and visitors the opportunity to invest in that heritage and in contemporary artists and bring that home on to their walls and bookshelves.”

Pictures: Clare Keogh

Nano Nagle Place was officially opened in December 2017 and includes amongst other things, a heritage centre dedicated to the life of the founder of the Presentation Sisters order, Nano Nagle.

It features sensitively restored architecture from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, eye-catching tranquil gardens and a Cork-focused design and gift shop.

Cork Printmakers is a print studio providing artists with a creative and well-equipped environment in which to work. Its director, Miguel Amado, said Cork Printmakers is developing a civic agenda and the partnership with Nano Nagle Place “is another step in this direction”. “The print gallery, and related retail point, offer a key showcasing and commercial platform to Cork-based artists working in the realm of print. In addition, it expands the recognition of print as a democratic medium, which can be used to foster social inclusion through art. Visitors and users of Nano Nagle Place now have a new opportunity to engage with visual culture and heritage in an innovative way,” he added.

All are welcome at the new bookshop, print gallery, and map room, from Saturday, November 23, Nano Nagle Place, Douglas Street, Cork City; www.nanonagleplace.ie