22 August 2024
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie

As the only National Cultural Institution located entirely outside of Dublin, Crawford Art Gallery is home to over 3,500 works of art – it will close from 22nd September 2024 until Spring of 2027 for a serious upgrade

The ‘Obelisk of Bronze’, by sculptor Michael Warren, has been in the garden of the gallery since the 1990s and was lifted out by crane on Tuesday morning. Photo Darragh Kane

The temporary closure is to allow for an ambitious multi-million euro redevelopment on the Crawford site.

The capital project, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, is set to add:

• 50% of additional space – increased spaces for exhibitions, new state-of-the-art storage for its collection and a new Learn & Explore facility for educational programmes.
• A restaurant facing onto Half Moon Street.
• An entrance restored to the original historic Customs House entrance on Emmet Place, with new landscaping and entrance.
• A new public gallery on the top floor of a five-storey extension offering a birds-eye view of Cork city landmarks.
• Improved accessibility, lifts and toilet facilities over several floors.

Transforming Crawford Art Gallery is part of Project Ireland 2040, in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Art, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media and the Office of Public Works (OPW).

A tender process is currently underway for the building and renovation works which will see a contractor appointed and on site in the spring of 2025. The redevelopment works are estimated to take two and a half years to complete.

Staff will continue working in the building following the public closure, throughout the autumn and winter of 2024, to safely remove the gallery’s treasured collection, which will in part be housed in secure storage facilities off site for the duration of the redevelopment. This period is necessary to remove many large and fragile works.

As the only National Cultural Institution located entirely outside of Dublin, Crawford Art Gallery is home to over 3,500 works of art.

The redevelopment designs are the result of years of planning by an interdisciplinary design team headed up by the award-winning Irish firm Grafton Architects.

“Cork is growing, and so too are we,” gallery director Mary McCarthy said. “We are excited to be at this phase of our ambitious project, for Crawford and for Cork. Transforming Crawford Art Gallery has been years in the making.”

“We have collaborated closely with our design team and the OPW to ensure we conserve the many special elements and qualities of our buildings, while we also expand our spaces to ensure the building is fit for purpose, and sustainable for generations to come.”

“We look forward to sharing news of the building works over the next two and a half years, and to delivering an exceptional project here on Emmet Place for all our audiences. We are very grateful to our loyal visitors and champions for their continued support.”

“This development is extremely good news for Crawford Art Gallery and for Cork,” Rose McHugh, Chair of Crawford Art Gallery, said.

“This unprecedented public investment demonstrates confidence in Crawford Art Gallery, Cork city’s cultural heritage, and its future potential. We are very grateful to Minister Catherine Martin and her officials for their deep commitment to the gallery and its future.”

“We recognise that the public will miss the gallery during the necessary closure period, but the redevelopment will ensure the gallery can thrive into the future.”

Gallery staff will continue to work off-site throughout the period of closure, conducting an extensive care-of-the-collection programme to conserve artworks, and liaising with other cultural institutions on a touring programme.

Learn & Explore outreach and education programmes will continue to be delivered in a variety of venues and locations, as well as online.

Works from the Crawford collection will also be on loan to other galleries and museums all over Ireland, including Doneraile Court, Cork Public Museum, Hillsborough Castle, The National Museum of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Gallery, Uillinn West Cork Arts in Skibbereen, West Cork and more.

Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Dan Boyle with director Mary McCarthy and Dr Michael Waldron pictured on his visit to Crawford Art Gallery on Thursday August 22. An tÁrd-Mhéara took a tour of current exhibitions Now You See It… and From Source To Sea with curator of collections Dr Michael Waldron, met with gallery registrar Jean O’Donovan and got a briefing on the gallery’s upcoming redevelopment, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, with director Mary McCarthy.
Picture. John Allen

Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Dan Boyle with director Mary McCarthy and Dr Michael Waldron pictured on his visit to Crawford Art Gallery on Thursday August 22. An tÁrd-Mhéara took a tour of current exhibitions Now You See It… and From Source To Sea with curator of collections Dr Michael Waldron, met with gallery registrar Jean O’Donovan and got a briefing on the gallery’s upcoming redevelopment, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, with director Mary McCarthy.
Picture. John Allen

Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Dan Boyle and director Mary McCarthy pictured on his visit to Crawford Art Gallery on Thursday August 22. An tÁrd-Mhéara took a tour of current exhibitions Now You See It… and From Source To Sea with curator of collections Dr Michael Waldron, met with gallery registrar Jean O’Donovan and got a briefing on the gallery’s upcoming redevelopment, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, with director Mary McCarthy.

Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Dan Boyle with director Mary McCarthy and Dr Michael Waldron pictured on his visit to Crawford Art Gallery on Thursday August 22. An tÁrd-Mhéara took a tour of current exhibitions Now You See It… and From Source To Sea with curator of collections Dr Michael Waldron, met with gallery registrar Jean O’Donovan and got a briefing on the gallery’s upcoming redevelopment, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, with director Mary McCarthy.
Picture. John Allen

Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Dan Boyle with Dr Michael Waldron pictured on his visit to Crawford Art Gallery on Thursday August 22. An tÁrd-Mhéara took a tour of current exhibitions Now You See It… and From Source To Sea with curator of collections Dr Michael Waldron, met with gallery registrar Jean O’Donovan and got a briefing on the gallery’s upcoming redevelopment, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, with director Mary McCarthy.
Picture. John Allen

For regular updates on Transforming Crawford Art Gallery throughout the closure period, it’s best to sign up to the gallery’s newsletter on www.crawfordartgallery.ie or follow the gallery’s social media channels.