Crawford Art Gallery update: 'We anticipate a late-2028 re-opening'
Crawford Art Gallery director Mary McCarthy at the site of the redevelopment. Picture: Darragh Kane
Construction is transforming Cork city. Apartment buildings are rising, public realm projects are progressing and at Crawford Art Gallery, the largest cultural construction project currently on site in Cork is well underway.
Transforming Crawford Art Gallery is the largest single development to date on our historic site. Alongside essential work to protect these much-loved buildings for generations, the redevelopment will enhance everything people love about Crawford while creating a gallery of international standard in the heart of Cork city.
We moved fully out of the building on January 12, 2026, which was a huge milestone for everyone involved. While it was an emotional time for the team, after months of carefully moving the collection from the gallery, we were thrilled for the moment we could hand over the site to PJ Hegarty & Sons, and the OPW.
The good news is we are eight months in to construction, and work is progressing smoothly. Much preparation was done by all parties but nothing prepares one for opening up a historic building and the surprises it will bring.
Fortunately, to date the reveals have been welcome: from old library tickets and summons letters found under floors, to parking tickets, many cigarette packs, match boxes, and additional historic fireplaces found hidden under panelling. These are all being carefully protected and documented.
Among the most fascinating discoveries are the markings left by generations of craftsmen on the building's timber structures. These are also being carefully documented as the work progresses – evidence of careful hands contributing to the building’s story over time. In fact, ‘documenting’ is a large portion of our task at the moment. There are archaeologists on site at all times, ensuring that work is carried out respectfully and that anything that is uncovered is recorded.
Work is well underway on the building's front façade. Windows, brickwork, slates, and railings are all being restored, the clock is undergoing conservation, and the new build will shortly start to emerge and be visible over the next few months.
The extension is going to be very significant for Crawford, bringing new public spaces, purpose-built collection storage, a new Learn & Explore Centre, additional galleries, a new café, improved accessibility and remarkable new views across the city. We can’t wait to experience those elevated views and celebrate Cork from a height.
The question we get asked most often is, "When are you reopening?" Progress has been smooth so far and if that continues, we anticipate handover of the building back to us in mid-2028. We will need a number of months to reinstall the artworks and get all services operating. We will provide a further update on that in mid 2027 but we anticipate a late-2028 opening.
While the building is closed, our team is planning events and continuing our programmes. Learn & Explore have continued many of their offsite community programmes, including Crawford Supported Studios and their work with Cork Migrant Centre, at alternative venues and online. They recently held some excellent events for Cork Midsummer Festival, Cork Harbour Festival, Cruinniú na nÓg, and National Heritage Week. ‘Beyond the Frame’, an outreach programme for participants in the Cork Prison, is currently holding an exhibition called Altered Images, open to the public on Spike Island.
Our conservator has been working in a temporary conservation lab set up off-site. During the decant, Dr Chiara Chillè triaged our artworks, classifying them based on the urgency of their conservation needs, and is now carrying out that work. Crawford was also recently awarded for a Heritage Stewardship Grant from the Heritage Council, which will fund much-needed, specialised conservation equipment to enable scientific analysis and support preventative conservation into the future.
Our team has been doing a phenomenal amount of research into the provenance of works and digitising archives, while also coordinating our Touring and Sharing programme.
To date we have partnered on three major exhibitions held at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, the F.E. McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge, and the Highlanes Gallery in Drogheda. For anyone who is looking to visit with our collection, we still have works on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Ireland, Michael Collins House, Doneraile Court and many more.
Our focus is now firmly on returning to the building. Over the coming months we will continue planning every aspect of reopening, from the reinstallation of the collection to visitor services, a complete rebrand, digital platforms and future staffing. We have also acquired several important new works through generous donations and look forward to sharing them with visitors when the gallery reopens.
We are thankful for the support shown to us by the Government of Ireland, the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, the OPW, and for the excellent work by Grafton Architects Integrated Design Team and PJ Hegarty & Sons. We are also grateful for the support we have received from people who miss the gallery, as well as those who are anticipating our reopening!
We will continue to update you all throughout the redevelopment. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this glimpse behind the scrim and feel reassured that everyone involved is working carefully, collaboratively and with great ambition to deliver the national cultural institution that Crawford — and Cork — deserve.
- For details of upcoming events, job vacancies, etc, see the Crawford Art Gallery website
