Aiming to keep a Sample of Cork arts in the public eye
Describing her new role as artistic director of Sample Studios in Cork as her "dream job", Aoibhie McCarthy has worked her way through the country's various galleries and arts organisations. Originally from Bray, she has come to Cork via Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Limerick and Waterford working at the National Gallery, the Douglas Hyde Gallery, the Galway Fringe Festival and Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford to mention just a few.
McCarthy, an arts graduate of Trinity College Dublin, will continue working part-time as the marketing and development manager of the Cork International Film Festival for the next two and a half months before focusing solely on Sample Studios.
Next year, Sample Studios, celebrates ten years. This artists' space opened in the old FÁS building on Sullivan's Quay in 2011 before moving to the former FÁS training centre at Churchfield on the north side of the city. It caters for about 50 artists, 29 of whom have their own studios in the building. Those that don't have studios are creative associates connected to Sample Studios.
McCarthy has always been interested in visual art. "I detected early on that I was never going to have the kind of talent or level of creativity needed to make it as an artist myself," she says. "I am creative and I do artistic activities of various kinds but I wouldn't consider myself an artist. I think it helps to have had some background aspiration to be an artist to understand the various processes and courage it takes."
Making sure the studio spaces at Sample Studios are maintained is part of McCarthy's brief. "It's about seeing that the working space is conducive to artists making excellent work and being able to thrive and access a community where they can share knowledge and advice. Part of that is making sure Sample Studios is protected so that involves working closely with our main funders, the Arts Council and Cork City Council." (Sample Studios receives about €40,000 from the Arts Council and €5,000 from City Council.) The artists pay a membership fee.
McCarthy will be looking at other funding opportunities. "Part of that is through partnerships, identifying them, working with them as well as working with existing partners." She will also work with other cultural organisations in Cork, raising the visibility of Sample Studios.
A recent gift-in-kind from City Council to Sample Studios is the use of the Lord Mayor's Pavilion in Fitzgerald's Park for exhibitions. "Brokering the use of that space (built for the 1902 Cork International Exhibition) is a great innovation for me stepping into my new role. It is absolutely fantastic visibility for Sample Studios. There's a real cross section of people who use Fitzgerald's Park and they'll become aware of the fact that there's a whole community of artists in the city."
In these challenging times, McCarthy is concerned that the wider ecosystem and cultural economy are supported. "There's the technicians, the website and PR team, the arts managers and administrators. The individual artist needs all that to survive. So that is one of the major challenges ahead."
McCarthy says the €25m being provided by the Government through the Arts Council is testament to the National Campaign for the Arts.
Being able to make a living from the arts is an ongoing challenge. "A lot of artists would supplement their income by running events, or teaching or running workshops in local galleries. All of that has dried up which has been having a huge impact on artists for the last six months. Thankfully, Sample Studios was able to reopen in June in a really safe way. At least, artists there can make their own work. Some artists have socially engaged practices where selling work isn't always the focus. But certainly, at the moment, alternative sources of funding for artists are needed."
A forthcoming exhibition at the Lord Mayor's Pavilion from Cork Printmakers is something that McCarthy is excited about. "It's wonderful to have this space which is purpose built. I've never before worked in a purpose built exhibition space."
McCarthy hopes to hold workshops at Sample Studios as well as inviting the public there for artists' talks. "There's lots of ways we can animate the space to make people more aware of it. We'd love to work with local businesses on the north side to boost awareness."
In these Covid-dominated times, she also believes the arts has a big role to play in the wider society. "The inherent resilience of artists and organisations like Sample Studios will have a critical role to play in reimagining our relationship with our city."
