THE GUESTHOUSE IS
springing from the visual arts | voluntary | D.I.Y. | interested in co-creation | an economy of exchange | transdisciplinary | process-oriented | particular
The Guesthouse is an art space which is curated and managed by The Guesthouse Collective.
NOW (OUR PLAN FOR 2024)
A year of co-produced projects.
HISTORY
The Guesthouse is a Cork Artists Collective (CAC) initiative that began in collaboration with the Cork City Council and with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland.
In 2004, Shandon House was purchased by Cork City Council and entrusted to the CAC to develop a new visual arts initiative. The process of developing the project began in 2005 during Cork’s Capital Of Culture. The building became an active testing site that informed its development and renovation plan in 2006.
In 2009, operating on a voluntary basis, The Guesthouse was launched and developed as a creative initiative, led by artists who were actively engaged in experimentation, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and collaboration. Its creation formed a unique type of workspace and social space that facilitated conversations and cross-practice exchanges within the arts and beyond.
Inspired by the residential and domestic nature of the house, with the kitchen at its centre, open events became a key gathering point and an interface between the artists and the visiting public.
The Guesthouse has undergone significant changes over the past years and has maintained its vitality and necessity by assessing and questioning itself. It evolves in response to artists and a changing arts environment.
The Guesthouse is an artistic endeavour, continuously questioning the notion of organisation.
2020–2023
2020 marked a change in the orientation of the project. The A.I.R. residency duration was extended to enable visiting artists to establish deeper ties over a 3-month period. From 2020 to 2023 we formed a non-resident community of artists, InHouse, to utilise the building as a shared work and meeting space, developing relationships, collaborating, and programming activities and events.
Developments included:
- Sunday Sessions – multidisciplinary improvisation
- T-Junction – hosted discussions, presentations, workshops and food
- Off-site residencies and events
- Ghost editions – limited edition productions
InHouse was an opportunity for local artists to join us for the duration of one year and actively participate in our creative setting. InHouse artists attended regular gatherings in the Guesthouse. InHouse facilitated experimentation that tested out new approaches to artistic practice. We invited artists to find a new way of imagining, activating and utilising the Guesthouse building. We were interested in transdisciplinary practitioners who enjoyed collaborating. This opportunity gave artists a place to share skills, participate and host activities and events with us over the duration of one year.
