An artist at studio space in Block T, Smithfield, Dublin 7
You may recall a post last week about how the people of Block T [inexpensive studio space for artists] have to vacate their premises in Smithfield, Dublin 7 – after six years – due to rent increases.
Further to this.
“This week, the team at BLOCK T are sad to announce to members the date they will be vacating their premises in Smithfield, which currently houses over 70 creative studios and workshop facilities. Our organisation is now presented with a new challenge of rehousing their 120 members, who create and produce their work from this hub on a daily basis and have been supported by BLOCK T’s independent subsidies since 2010.”
“Established in the midst of the economic recession, BLOCK T was one of the first creative projects to seize the opportunity of the many vacant spaces in Smithfield, breathing a new lease of life into the area. When funding was hard to come by BLOCK T provided a new and unique model of operating artist-led initiatives and advocating for independently run cultural spaces not solely reliant on public funding.”
“Our co-founding team worked voluntarily during the start-up years, allowing it to grow into a primarily self-funded organisation.
This team of creative entrepreneurs collaborated with open-minded landlords, local businesses and arts organisations, and developed a variety social and cultural initiatives over the years, with public funding making up only 2% of its annual turnover.”
“BLOCK T has played a crucial role in the rejuvenation of the Smithfield area, welcoming over 150,000 visitors throughout the past six years. Alongside its cultural partners such as Lighthouse Cinema, Jameson Distillery, Generator Hostel Dublin, Brown Bag Films, Cobblestone and other old and new enterprises, it has fought the uphill battle to establish Smithfield and its surrounding area as a dynamic cultural destination in the city.”
“…To date BLOCK T holds an impressive list of accolades, having been the recipient of multiple awards and an instigator of unique partnerships in the city, nationally and internationally. It has facilitated and collaborated with some of Ireland’s finest cultural influencers such as Nialler9, Ensemble Music, Body & Soul, Dublin Flea, Upstart, All City Records, Knockanstockan Festival, Red Bull Music Academy, Darklight Festival, Spirit of Folk Festival, SCOOP Foundation, Hollywood Babylon, Slipdraft, Steve Doogan, Mary Cremin, Sven Anderson, Rhona Byrne, Aoibheann Greenan, Chequerboard, Patrick Kelleher, Alarmist, Meltybrains?, Fringe Festival, Innovation Dublin, Electric Picnic Festival, Bottlenote Festival, and many many more. For these partnerships, BLOCK T provided a much needed platform for creating, showcasing and exchange, which often saw new projects springboard into existence.”
“We have seen the influence of the economic turn in the market with the closure of more than half of the much loved and successful artist-led initiatives over the course of the past two years including Broadstone Studios, Basic Space, The Joinery, Moxie Studios, Mabos and Bio Space. Their presence in the cultural landscape of the city is already sorely missed.”
“…We’re inviting advocates, champions for Irish culture, interested patrons, local TDs, mentors and entrepreneurs to support us through this time of transition with advocacy, space provision and capital.
We’re looking for new partners who understand the value of social and creative enterprises, and who share our vision for sustainable creative communities for Dublin. We believe these independent spaces are not only necessary in times of economic decline, but also in time of growth.
“Alternative and independent cultural spaces are what makes a city a vibrant, authentic place. Their programmes and projects enrich and diversify the output of Irish culture, which greatly contributes to its tourism industry and global reputation.
More importantly these projects play an integral role in community development, offering innovative ways to nurture and support the talent of this industry that will help fuel our economy in the years ahead.”
“…We are now facing the biggest challenge to date, and are putting out an S.O.S to the city, culture is calling!”
Previously: Meanwhile, In Smithfield
get over yourselves lads
Jameson distillery is the 2nd biggest tourist attraction in Dublin, a giant hostel is a for profit business, and Brown Bag films dont exactly run guided tours. So on one hand youre trying to say these private businesses rejuvenated the area and you worked with them, on the other youre saying private businesses and the success of the area are running you out, but they need you for the vibes or something?
I’m not going to go overboard with it but I lived in Smithfield & a big part of the charm of Smithfield/Stoneybatter is the fact, unlike many places, it has a lot more to it than apartments+offices+shopping centre.
It may well be that there is little point fighting gentrification & that many such types who don’t tend to be commercially focused/successful will need to seek less popualr areas elsewhere.
It is worth considering, however, whether there are any other models available to us than the slum-artists-creatives-professionals-bankers-decline cycle, so often spoken about in terms of NY & London. One which serves communities & the long-term vibrancy of the city. Perhaps there isn’t. But can we at least think about it rather than dismissing alternatives out of hand?
yeah, yeah, yeah. give us some facts and proper details. who is the landlord, do you have a lease, if so, did you get proper notice, how much was the rent increase and on what basis?
ye have rights as tenants, make sure ye exhaust all the legal avenues first.
The building is owned by one of the Block heads family. That’s how they got the cheap rent to start with.
The plot thickens
interesting – got a link?
also, if the rent went up, then by how much? and what are they doing to bring in income to offset their overheads like any co-op would do?
I don’t think the rent did go up. They knew at least a year ago they had to be out so lots of people renting studio spaces from them just jumped ship before they got kicked out. There’s a few of them moved up to Brunswick Street and a few others in the Factory. The ground floor of Block T has been closed for almost a year now so it’s not a huge shock.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/ireland/Business/article1492432.ece
They could just renta space like everyone else. Being hipster tax exempt beardy mocha coffee drinking times with a superiority complex does not entitle one to some priveleged space. As some said, get over yourselves
“As some said, get over yourselves”
Good god the state of you, of all people, who is on here complaining of things when they affect you yet shows a sneering narrow-minded lack of empathy for anything that is even slightly outside the scope of what effects you personally.
Cry me a river
The whole point is there are more pressing issues than quasi retro art
And Eurovision. Very few give an iota of a poo.
Everything must be allowed to go to ruin until the issues which fluffybiscuits deem more important, mainly things which affect fluffybiscuits, get sorted.
Until that time, fluffybiscuits can sneer at everything which affects others but not fluffybiscuits and is therefore not deemed important.
Art studios, spaces, galleries and funding is disappearing in the city but it can be dismissed as ‘quasi retro art’ and the artists can ‘Cry me a river’ because it doesn’t affect you.
And meanwhile children starve , people go homeless and the unemployed face hardship but its alright as a few hipsters whinge about their facility being closed down. The real world rolls on for those who have nothing whilst a couple of people with their canvas, beard oil and skinny lattes bemoan a lack of resources as staring into the realities of the world is a little too daunting for them. If you are going to champion a cause Vote Rep #1 , there are a lot more worthy causes. Most of us are not in with quinoa munching D4 intelligensia types who happily live in the leafy suburbs wetting themselves when a new Social Democrat policy comes out that they can chat about over a pint of Heino in some wine bar, most of us want to live in the real world….
Yes Im going to acknowledge Im a complete a*sehole about these things but I reckon we have to be…
Voterep#1 dot org
PS Have you seen the role that the artist types play in gentrification of an area? They take over the run down areas of a particular suburb, make it all upmarket and the housing gets priced out of it as they create these upper class suburbs. Its what happened in the Meatpacking district and Soho district of NY
“Most of us are not in with quinoa munching D4 intelligensia types who happily live in the leafy suburbs wetting themselves when a new Social Democrat policy comes out that they can chat about over a pint of Heino in some wine bar, most of us want to live in the real world….”
Wow. Every artist is a “quinoa munching D4 intelligensia type”. No person from working class backgrounds has ever tried to fulfil their ambition of being an artist. You truly are awful, snobby and horrifically judgemental. It is because of people like you that the art world is being destroyed in this city.
“They take over the run down areas of a particular suburb, make it all upmarket and the housing gets priced”
Not only are you awful, but you are an idiot.
Art world being destroyed?
They have massive tax breaks, they have dedicated festivals and communities, grants
You on the flip side have your head up your arse and your position is frankly anti working class, you would rather spend money on what should be one of the first things that should be cut.
In fact Im now going to say rip the whole place out and open up a homeless hostel and be done with this crap..screw the art scene for the moment, there are more pressing issues
Like Cian Egan’s vocal skills.
Well that was an interesting exchange of viewpoints. Am I alone in having difficulty forming a mental image of a quinoa muncher?
Everyone in the art world, even my wife from a staunchly working class background, is a quinoa munching D4 intelligensia type who is actually anti working class because she wants to be an artist.
I can paint two squares on a canvas and sell it for a few hundred too….my mates pet ferret could too…
Sure all the art galleries and cultural spaces in the country are a waste of time and should be closed down and converted into homeless shelters and day centres for the unemployed. That will definitely get the economy going again alright. In fact let’s close everything down until every social issue in the country is fixed first. Bloody ‘hipsters’ going around trying to improve the place, who do they think they are at all?
Or we could turn all the homeless hostels into art spaces because lets face it the skinny latte business is on its knees right?
“And meanwhile children starve , people go homeless and the unemployed face hardship but its alright as a few hipsters whinge about their facility being closed down.”
What are you saying here? Nobody can complain about having problems until we solve child hunger and get to full employment?
“I can paint two squares on a canvas and sell it for a few hundred too….my mates pet ferret could too…”
FFS.
Your obsession with coffee is weird. I guess it makes it easier to dismiss artists when you think of them as a weird caricature of something dislikeable instead of the reality that they come from all walks of like.
Lol
The bit about Ireland’s ” finest cultural influencers” made me feel sick in my mouth though in fairness. Give me a break clowns
They have been known to quaff chai tea too!
cry me the amazon
Hmm…
It does make for nicer communities and environments where you have access to spaces for artists or whoever to do their thing and if this has helped certain events etc get off the ground then it is a big loss to the artistic community.
It’s like how everyone goes overseas and hangs out in the arty areas and then comes home and decries the fact that there is nothing like that. It takes the will and the desire to see art as something more than a thing you can sell but as something that adds to the world.
Having said that, if you call yourself a creative, you can fu** off.
what Don said!
I don’t think, based on the comments above you, that many of us go overseas and come home wishing fervently for more arty areas. I think the majority of commenters on Broadsheet must feel exactly the opposite. I think most of us kind of hate anyone who tries to make a career in art or culture. It seems offensive to our values, somehow.
Might I humbly suggest that many Broadsheet regulars seem to be in the graphic design etc trade and feel browned off when artists play the “art for art’s sake” card, especially when their own businesses might be struggling.
It’s not my field at all, so you may write this off as idle speculation should you wish.
Interesting take. There’s definitely an air of ‘So you think you’re better than me, huh?’ to some of their detractors.
It’s their motto.
Interesting, but I dunno. I happen to be in that very business myself, and my perception is that most people in the design trade are pretty positive about art, artists, and the benefits to society in supporting art without demanding it must be able to pay for itself. There’s a lot of overlap between the spheres. But that’s just my perspective.
this
Values in a Broadsheet commenter? Oh come on.
Pro-choice, anti-Church values in the main – everything else is up for grabs.
come over to my gaff and i’ll play my drums at you.
Wait now, when talking about other cities, do you mean the areas that used to be arty and now are gentrified and unaffordable to most or the areas that are kips (but foreign, so its interesting) but are full of artists for the next 5 years till they become the hot spot for yuppies?
That happened in London, yes.
Berlin is different. Rents were, and still are to a point, cheaper and there are great spaces for artists, so they move there. And they get government funding. THEN People like the vibe of the neighbourhood and move in. Their rents are controlled so it won’t get as bad as London.
It happens in nearly every city on the planet, even with rent controls it happens. Williamsburg is a recent example. I’m sure it happens in berlin to some extent.
Well, that makes it fine then, doesn’t it.
It makes it reality.
And that makes it fine to you. How boring.
“It makes it reality.”
So what? Why is that an answer to people complaining about that reality?
I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.
It’s like you are moaning that water falls from the sky a bit too much and this makes you wet and something needs to be done about it.
Are you actually comparing economics to the weather?
rotide forgot to mention coffee and bring it into the equation and quinoa…
Why the hell are you so bitter and emotional about artists? Did you get dumped by one?
“It’s like you are moaning that water falls from the sky a bit too much and this makes you wet and something needs to be done about it.”
It’s more like saying a problem that, if so desired, could be solved by local or national government, but it’s all a bit too hard and I can’t be bothered because something about Williamsburg. Or some other random place that isn’t this place or this politics. Or the weather even.
It’s very lazy and very annoying.
Tsk. Being dumped implies getting laid in the first place…
My point is that with all the hand rubbing and progressive policy making in the world , I’m unaware of a reasonable and practical way to stop it happening.
‘but berlin’ is not a good answer either.
“‘but berlin’ is not a good answer either.”
Why?
“But Berlin” is a good answer because takes into account all the context you railroaded over with the “well something vague about other cities that doesn’t take into account their unique cultural or economic climate”
The same thing could be done in any city if people wanted it to
My problem here is that I know next to nothing about Berlin and I have a hard time believing that it alone is immune to the natural order of economics.
I guess my first question would be, are the ‘artistic areas’ that we’re talking about here, the same areas that they were in the 60’s? or 80s? How exactly do the local policies keep the tide of gentrification back?
“My problem here is that I know next to nothing about Berlin and I have a hard time believing that it alone is immune to the natural order of economics.”
Right, so Berlin is a perfectly fine answer, you just don’t know enough about the place or economics. Maybe read up on it? You’re on the internet, like.
Id not say they would be on a list of priorities because they cant get cheap rent in Smithfield. There are alternative uses for that space I would consider…
Mickey you can get stuffed if you think I would lower my standards for you in the first place pal, I’d rather sleep with my own sister <3
I am deeply hurt by that sentiment.
* Big hugs *
I like the word tho
Or is it a thought
Creative
I like that
I should squeeze it inta that day job more
ehh I can think of at least one other artist’s collective in the city which charges €200 per desk for a month (well below market office rate)
120 members x 200 = 24k per month which is enough to rent a mammoth space pretty much anywhere in the city with plenty of change.. how are you lot so special?
Thank you <3
So Block T is going to be what now, just more offices? It’s these kind of spaces that make a city interesting, engaging, attractive places to live in and visit. Let’s just turn the city into an industrial estate.
There’s every possibility there’ll be nothing there. Another art collectiv ein the area were forced out in order to put a Tesco in the space they had, but that fell through. Their chunk of the building is still vacant.
“culture is calling” .. wrong number, theres not a lick of culture or appreciation of, amongst 90% of broadsheet readers. im not even guna look at the comments, itll be the usual infuriating ‘get a real job, hippy’ ignorant nonsense.
There’ll be other spaces, just might not be as handy as smithfield.
Welcome to the world.
+1 there is a sheeeeiteload of disused warehouse spaces and industrial units just outside the city to rent. no harm in slumming it a little – sure tis good for the cred, man. as lemmy said, ‘once you stop being hungry, you’re f**ked.
These vacant spaces are usually temporary. It is great to take advantage of them while they exist, and then move on. Moxie did, as did The Factory and probably countless other collectives and arts organisations. I think the transient nature of the space is implicit from the start.
The factory looked around and found an alternative space for the right price.
Ironically, they’re now in smithfield.
Where are moxie now? Are they gone from baggot st?
Gone altogether as far as i know
Moxie relocated to an old primary school on School Street, Dublin 8 and call themselves Steambox.
did not know that. I had assumed they were gone altogether.
I thought only Gwyneth did that?!
These vacant spaces are usually temporary. It is great to take advantage of them while they exist, and then move on. Moxie did, as did The Factory and probably countless other collectives and arts organisations. I think the transient nature of the space is implicit from the start.
Occupy Space was an initiative in Limerick that did exactly that also.
Why not just club together and buy a run down old warehouse in somewhere like Parkwest?
Parkwest is quite the spin from Dublin 8 –
especially on a Penny Farthing.
and the mocchachinos? Absolute dirt. Wouldn’t wash me brush in them.
LOL Bertie…
I don’t know if a photo of a guy copying another painting was the best way to show creativity…
Hope they find another space.
Lol. Thought that too.
Copying a Zurburan isn’t art.
They could rent a place in Blanch for 22k a year
http://www.daft.ie/dublin/commercial-property/industrial-unit/unit-707-northwest-enterprise-centre-ballycoolin-blanchardstown-dublin-241114/
If you have 44 artists thats 500 quid a year…not a fortune….
Actually I do have an alternative suggestion for the artists that might work…Seomra Spraoi on Mountjoy Square?
Seomra closed last year. Apparently the building has been bought by or leased to one of the people who ran the Dublin Cycle Collective out the back, and he’s been renovating it, but I’m not sure of the intended use (an activist group I work with were offered office space there)
shame was a good spot :(
They should move into IMMA. It’s the biggest waste of space in Ireland, nobody would miss it and it’s in trendy Dublin 8 to boot.
IMMA is class.
The grounds are fabulous too.
so they want a moral intervention because the lent of their agreed lease is expired?
as someone said the empty untis below the smithfield apartments are still there, and the ones off the main square have been unsold/unoccupied for years so rent them
Well
I’m on board
If ye’ll have me