The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., has approved the Crawford Art Gallery (CAG) redevelopment project to proceed to invitation to tender stage. The ambitious redevelopment of the Gallery is one of the projects included in the programme of investment under the National Development Plan, which will see many of our National Cultural Institutions restored and renewed.
Located in a heritage building in the heart of Cork city, Crawford is the only National Cultural Institution operating entirely outside of Dublin. The proposed design by award-winning Grafton Architects, will address long-standing challenges with the fabric of the building, enhancing its sustainability and providing fit-for-purpose storage spaces for its collection. It will expand and modernise Crawford in line with international standards, providing new exhibition spaces as well as a Learn and Explore facility to engage new audiences.
A new public gallery will provide panoramic views of Cork city and a new entrance from Emmett Place will create an opening onto a new urban plaza at the heart of the cultural life of the city. The Gallery will remain open to visitors until the Autumn of 2024 with work to commence on-site a number of months later.
Speaking today Minister Martin said:
“This is an exciting stage in the redevelopment of the Crawford Art Gallery. The investment by my Department will ensure that the Crawford is revamped and modernised, providing a beautiful new public building in Cork. The new Gallery’s facilities will be more attractive for visitors and will provide a fantastic new setting for the collection on display. I am confident this reimagination of the building will support the development of the Gallery long into the future and help it play an even more significant part of Irish cultural life. I look forward to work commencing and visiting the Gallery after the development is complete”
Minister of State with Responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Kieran O’Donnell, and T.D. said:
“The OPW has been working closely with the Crawford Art Gallery and the Design Team, led by Grafton Architects to bring this project to this significant stage. We are delighted to announce the call for tenders for the redevelopment work of the Art Gallery.
The refurbishment works on this historic building will provide a space that is more accessible to the public through creating new universal access to the Gallery. The much needed redevelopment will also provide a space with the necessary environmental controls to care for the extensive historic and contemporary art collections housed within the Gallery. This is an exciting project that will bring culture and urban life closer together”.
Director of the Crawford Art Gallery, Mary McCarthy, said:
“Crawford Art Gallery is delighted to reach this significant milestone in its capital development programme. Much care and attention has been taken by the OPW, the interdisciplinary design team led by Grafton Architects and Crawford Art Gallery to ensure that this development will deliver a significant cultural project for Cork and one that will contribute to Irelands cultural landscape into the future.
As well as providing significant new cultural space for the public, the capital redevelopment project will provide essential preservation and protection for over three centuries of existing built heritage, revitalising the life of Crawford Art Gallery’s existing much-beloved gallery spaces for centuries to come.”
