Project Arts Centre
Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts venue and producing organisation in Dublin, presenting visual art, theatre, dance, music, and performance.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, and one of Ireland's significant institutions for contemporary visual and performing arts. Its programme spans exhibitions, theatre, dance, music, performance, and interdisciplinary work rather than being confined to a single artistic medium. The centre functions both as a venue and as a platform for artists, curators, companies, festivals, and experimental cultural projects. The organisation traces its origins to a three-week festival staged at Dublin's Gate Theatre in 1966. Following that event, Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain founded Project Arts Centre in 1967. It was described as Ireland's first arts centre of its kind, reflecting a model in which different art forms could be presented within one institution and connected to a broad public programme. The early organisation operated from a succession of premises while dealing with funding and accommodation difficulties. These conditions shaped its development as a flexible cultural organisation rather than one established from the outset in a permanent purpose-built building. Project eventually opened for regular business in a converted factory on East Essex Street in 1975. That location made the centre a durable part of Dublin's independent and contemporary arts infrastructure. The original building was demolished in 1998, and a new purpose-built facility opened on the same site in 2000 during the second phase of the regeneration of Temple Bar. The new centre included two auditoriums, a gallery, and a bar, enabling it to support both performance and exhibition activity. Its presence, alongside institutions including the Irish Film Institute, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Black Church Print Studios, the Gallery of Photography, and the venue now known as the Button Factory, contributed to Temple Bar's emergence as a recognised cultural quarter. The centre has hosted or supported work associated with major Dublin festivals, including the Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Writers Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, and Dublin Theatre Festival. Its role has therefore extended beyond its own season: it has served as an infrastructural partner and presentation space within the city's wider festival ecology. Following the Irish recession, the organisation placed increased emphasis on cross-cultural productions, broadening the social and international dimensions of its programme. Project Arts Centre is also associated with public debate about art, politics, and civic expression. In 2018, street artist Maser created a mural at the centre in support of the Repeal the 8th pro-choice campaign. The mural was subsequently painted over after pressure from the Irish Government, making the episode a prominent example of the institutional and political sensitivities surrounding public-facing artistic work in Ireland. The centre continued to participate in international contemporary art networks in 2024, when Romantic Ireland, an exhibition by Eimear Walshe curated by Sara Greavu and Project Arts Centre, was selected for the Irish Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Through its building, exhibitions, performances, commissions, festival relationships, and support for experimental practice, Project Arts Centre occupies a distinctive position in Irish cultural life: it is simultaneously a Dublin venue, a commissioning and presenting organisation, and an advocate for multidisciplinary contemporary art.
History
Project Arts Centre emerged from a short experimental festival held at Dublin's Gate Theatre in 1966. The festival lasted three weeks and demonstrated the potential for an organisation that could bring different artistic disciplines together in a single programme. Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain established Project Arts Centre in 1967, making it the first Irish arts centre of this kind. The organisation spent its early years moving between premises and coping with recurring funding and accommodation problems. This period preceded the establishment of a permanent home and required Project to operate with considerable flexibility. In 1975, it opened for regular business in a converted factory on East Essex Street. The building became an important base for contemporary and experimental activity in Dublin, accommodating work across visual art, theatre, dance, music, and performance. The East Essex Street building was later demolished in 1998. A purpose-built replacement opened on the same site in 2000 as part of the second phase of Temple Bar's regeneration. The new facility contained two auditoriums, a gallery, and a bar, providing a more suitable physical structure for Project's multidisciplinary programme. Project Arts Centre became one of several arts organisations that helped establish Temple Bar as a cultural quarter, alongside the Irish Film Institute, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Black Church Print Studios, the Gallery of Photography, and the music venue now called the Button Factory. Over time, Project Arts Centre developed relationships with a number of Dublin's principal arts festivals. Its spaces and programme have been associated with the Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Writers Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, and Dublin Theatre Festival. These relationships reinforced the centre's role as both a regular presenting venue and part of the city's wider cultural infrastructure. After the Irish recession, the centre placed greater emphasis on cross-cultural productions, reflecting an interest in work that connected different communities, artistic disciplines, and cultural perspectives. The centre's visibility also brought it into debates about the relationship between art and politics. In 2018, Maser painted a mural outside or at the centre in support of the Repeal the 8th pro-choice campaign. After pressure from the Irish Government, the mural was painted over. The episode generated controversy because it involved a publicly visible artwork, a major national political campaign, and questions about institutional independence and artistic expression. Project Arts Centre maintained an international profile through its curatorial and commissioning work. In 2024, Romantic Ireland, an exhibition by Eimear Walshe curated by Sara Greavu and Project Arts Centre, was selected for the Irish Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The selection connected the Dublin institution to one of the world's most prominent contemporary-art exhibitions and demonstrated the centre's continuing role in developing and presenting contemporary Irish practice.
- 2024
Romantic Ireland selected for Venice Biennale
[1]Romantic Ireland, by Eimear Walshe and curated by Sara Greavu and Project Arts Centre, was selected for the Irish Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
- 2018
Maser Repeal the 8th mural
[1]A pro-choice mural by street artist Maser was painted over after the centre faced pressure from the Irish Government.
- 2000
Purpose-built Temple Bar facility opens
[1]A new facility opened on the same site during the second phase of Temple Bar's regeneration, with two auditoriums, a gallery, and a bar.
- 1998
Original East Essex Street building demolished
[1]The converted factory that had housed the centre was demolished in preparation for a purpose-built replacement.
- 1975
Regular operations begin at East Essex Street
[1]After operating from several locations and facing funding difficulties, the centre opened for business in a converted factory on East Essex Street.
- 1967
Project Arts Centre founded
[1]Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain founded Project Arts Centre, described as Ireland's first multidisciplinary arts centre of its kind.
- 1966
Founding festival at the Gate Theatre
[1]A three-week festival at Dublin's Gate Theatre provided the immediate precursor to Project Arts Centre.
Products and positioning
An independent, multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre that connects visual art and live performance while supporting experimental, cross-cultural, and socially engaged practice in Dublin.
Visual arts
Contemporary visual-art exhibitions
Project Arts Centre presents curated contemporary-art exhibitions in its gallery programme. Its visual-art activity can include new commissions, artist-led projects, and work engaging with social, political, and cultural questions. The centre's role in the 2024 Irish Pavilion project demonstrates its capacity to develop exhibitions that operate both within Dublin's arts ecosystem and in international contemporary-art contexts.
Live performance
Theatre and performance
The centre's performance programme encompasses theatre, performance art, and interdisciplinary stage work. Its two-auditorium building, opened in 2000, was designed to support a range of live presentations and has made Project a recurring venue for Dublin's festival and independent performance communities.
Dance
Dance and movement work
Dance is one of the core disciplines represented by Project Arts Centre. The centre has hosted work connected with the Dublin Dance Festival and presents contemporary movement-based projects alongside theatre, visual art, and performance, reinforcing its multidisciplinary rather than single-genre identity.
Music and hybrid arts
Music and interdisciplinary events
Music and hybrid events form part of Project Arts Centre's wider programme. These activities sit within an institutional model that allows sound, performance, visual practice, and other forms of contemporary art to be presented together rather than treated as separate commercial product lines.
Controversies
2018
Government pressure over Repeal the 8th mural
A pro-choice mural by Maser at Project Arts Centre was painted over after the centre was pressured by the Irish Government. The incident became associated with debate about censorship, artistic freedom, and the political responsibilities of cultural institutions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2018Repeal the 8th mural
Ireland · Dublin
Street artist Maser created a mural at Project Arts Centre supporting the Repeal the 8th pro-choice campaign during Ireland's constitutional debate on abortion rights.
Outcome. The mural was painted over after pressure from the Irish Government, producing public controversy over political art and institutional autonomy.
Brand decisions
2024
Participation in the Irish Pavilion at the Venice BiennaleStrategyBackground
Project Arts Centre had developed a curatorial and commissioning role in contemporary visual art.
Action taken
The centre curated Romantic Ireland by Eimear Walshe with Sara Greavu for the Irish Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
Aftermath
The selection expanded the centre's international visibility and linked its Dublin programme to a major global contemporary-art event.
2018
Remove the Repeal the 8th muralOtherBackground
Maser's mural publicly supported the pro-choice Repeal the 8th campaign.
Action taken
The mural was painted over after pressure from the Irish Government.
Aftermath
The removal generated controversy concerning censorship, political speech, and the position of arts institutions in public campaigns.
2000
Move into a purpose-built multidisciplinary facilityStrategyBackground
The former converted-factory premises had been demolished in 1998 during the redevelopment of Temple Bar.
Action taken
Project Arts Centre opened a purpose-built venue on the same East Essex Street site, incorporating two auditoriums, a gallery, and a bar.
Aftermath
The new building strengthened the centre's ability to present exhibitions and live work and contributed to Temple Bar's development as a cultural quarter.
Recent events
- 2024
Romantic Ireland selected for the Irish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale[1]
Other
Romantic Ireland, an exhibition by Eimear Walshe curated by Sara Greavu and Project Arts Centre, was selected for the Irish Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
Sources1 sources
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