Arts infrastructure & artists
Dublin 8 is a vibrant, eclectic mix of people, culture, art and heritage, with the likes of IMMA, Common Ground and The Digital Hub Artist-in-Residence, all calling the area home. However at the same time, art infrastructure, and to some extent artists, are rapidly diminishing from the area – for example The Digital Hub is to be dissolved in 2025, leaving residents with little to no choice for artists in the area as to where they move to, and with places like Tivoli Theatre gone and replaced with what has been described at best as a “cultural space” and at worst a “storage facility”, shows the lack of consideration given by some about arts infrastructure and artists. It’s time that DCC and the Arts Council get serious about infrastructure planning and artists under their remit in regards to Dublin 8. I would support a root and branch assessment and work with all stakeholders for a period of implementation. The aim of which would be to create sustainable spaces for artists to work, contribute and showcase their work whilst giving accessibility to everyone under a 3x 10x framework. What this means is creating a space that gives equal opportunity to everyone – be they professional artists or amateur spanning across Dublin 8. The 3x 10x framework stands for 3 times the input for 10 times the positive social impact.
Cultural/arts venues and audiences
As mentioned above in the previous question there has been a decline in infrastructure, which means there is also a decline in places and events for people to attend. With enough will and commitment, places like the Rupert Guinness Theatrecould be brought back into use. There have been some open discussions about cultural space in Dublin 8, or the need to remedy the lack thereof, which in turn deprives the area of opportunity to see, hear and take in performances, all the while impacting the night time economy and the social fabric of certain areas.
Leisure venues/activities
I’m going to give a slightly different response on this as it is an important point to make. Currently there are roughly 8500 children in the area with no access to a full sized playing pitch. I have advocated for a sports campus and multiple sports pitches because the area needs it. If you look at it through the 3x 10x framework, the numbers work, especially on the positive social impact side. Playing pitches in Dublin 8 are needed to attract vulnerable young people into sports and keep them away from getting involved in the drug trade, anti-social behaviour and crime. The overall health and wellbeing benefits are limitless for everyone and with improved health and wellbeing, which in turn should lead to less of a strain on services in general.
