For many years the Cork Artists Collective had been discussing the need for a space that facilitated a kind of artistic practice outside of studio and in 2004 we approached the City Council to find a suitable building. Cork City Council had been purchasing property in the Shandon area as part of their cultural plan and offered us the use of a building that had been previously used as a Guest house.
Early 2006 after Corks adventures as the capital of culture the NSF organized a post C.C.C. meeting for artists and organisations to discuss the aftermath and project a plan for the future.
“ Recommendations for the future action in Cork has been that flexible space for meeting and screenings and exhibitions be made available in Cork that spaces for production be made available to artists, recommendation that an ongoing reading group, reading room/ book club be maintained. Need for a flexible contemporary exhibition space that is artist led. Need to maintain and build on international art networks, need to maintain and develop a more comprehensive and inclusive discursive culture in cork, need to create stronger links between visual arts and related arts disciplines and related academic disciplines in Cork”
What became apparent at the meeting was that the old guest house building in Shandon that the CAC had recently acquired from the City Council as a project space had the capacity to tick most of these boxes and more.
Our interest was in developing a space that was more engaged with a social and discursive potential within practice. Hosting, meeting and eating. To facilitate international and national exchange. To support the artists initiative within the city. To create a meeting point to enable an encounter with other disciplines and different ways of thinking. To encourage opportunity for collaboration and the development of new initiatives. To be a catalyst for new production.

Between 2005 and 2007 the Guesthouse was renovated with support from the Arts Council the City Council in collaboration with the C.A.C. The building was developed to accommodate a residential space in the attic, with separate shower and kitchen, a project room on the second floor, a project room on the first floor and a kitchen and dining room on the ground floor.
In 2008 we began by initiating a weekly Tuesday Lunch that invited practitioners to cook and meet and introduced the space to the community. The event was made possible by the donations to the larder and the generosity of the host chefs. Tuesday Lunch expanded into performances by the Quiet Club and visiting artists, presentations and screenings, and also facilitated artists visiting the city to meet up with the arts community and those in related disciplines to engage with a community. Other initiatives that took place in the Guesthouse included the YOYO Club In Tandem project, an experiment in collaborative practice, Radio On project broadcast for one week, Safe House sound event and Sound Eye poetry festival and Domestic Godless food event

In Sept 2008 the CAC established a board to represent a diverse range of practices and interests. The members appointed to manage and develop a program of activities included Mick O’Shea, Colette Lewis, Claire Guerin, Trevor Joyce, Matt Packer and Irene Murphy. We are presently setting up a framework of activities that open opportunities for spontaneous contributions that develop out of conversations.
Currently we run a monthly Sunday Lunch Event. The Back Room project? is a series of curated exhibitions organized by Dobz O Brien that will be happening throughout 2009.  We will be launching the Guesthouse project and a website in April as well as setting up a programme of activities exploring ideas of self organization titled Adventures In A Fitness Landscape.