Dozens of artists working in Dublin have been given notice of eviction from their studios in a blow to the city’s cultural scene.
About 30 artists based in studios at The Complex, an arts centre in Smithfield in north inner-city Dublin, were informed the venue was closing down on Wednesday and given an eviction date of January 14th.
“It’s not just losing a venue, a gallery, artist studios, a workplace, but it’s also this community of people that would be scattered. I think it would be a huge loss to Dublin and to Ireland,” said George Hooker, a film-maker and studio artist who has been based in The Complex since 2020.
“Over the last 15 years or so we have been watching places like this disappear one by one to be replaced by nothing. It’s very, very difficult for artists in Dublin to find a place like this.”
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In a separate setback for artists, Ormond Art Studios, a hub for eight artists that is supported by the Arts Council, announced on the same day that it was losing its venue on Ormond Quay and seeking a new space.
Vanessa Fielding, the chief executive and artistic director of The Complex, said it was still possible for the arts centre to secure a permanent base on the site if sufficient funding is secured.
The Complex had an agreement with a developer to buy the site and develop it into a 500-seat performance venue, art gallery and 16 studios, she said, but this depended on Government funding that has not come through.
“We had a partnership and it depended on a certain set of funding led by the Department of Finance, which has not been confirmed. The landlord is not willing to wait any more because they want to sell the building,” Ms Fielding said.
Comment was not immediately available from the Department of Finance.
In July 2024, The Complex made a submission to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media detailing the challenges associated with running an arts space of its type in Dublin’s inner city and requesting support for independent arts spaces in Ireland.
“Rents are expensive,” the submission read. “We pay €120,000 per year and in addition are paying back rent arrears from Covid of €2,000 per month over three years years.
“Income from year-long leases to the studio artists brings in €114,000 towards this cost, including subsidy of €18,500 from the Arts Council.”
Based inside a former fruit factory, The Complex is the latest in a series of cultural sites to close in Dublin.
It comprises 18 artist studios, a gallery and a large warehouse performance space with a capacity of 350 people. The venue hosts theatre, music, exhibitions and sport.
A petition to save the venue has reached more than 7,000 signatures, and the venue is likely to hold an event before Christmas protesting its closure.
Hooker, who does digitalisation work in the studio and has photographed comedian Tommy Tiernan and former president Michael D Higgins on site, said the timing of the announcement was difficult in the run up to the Christmas holidays.
“This is completely turning my life upside down. I have a daughter – she’s four months old now. I’m losing the place where I work,” Mr Hooker said.
Artists affected by the closure held a meeting after receiving the eviction notice and were determined to protest, he said.
“There’s a feeling of frustration and really strong sense that we can’t let this happen,” he said.
“Protest is absolutely necessary. Art is a powerful form of resistance, a powerful way of changing society for the better, so I think there’s probably no better group of people to do that.”
