Create Reading Room and Archive launched

On the 6th May 2025, we were delighted to welcome artists, academics, partners organisations, members of our board and more, to launch our new Reading Room and Archive.

This evening was both the culmination of a large-scale refurbishment project, and the beginning of a newly enhanced resource for the sector. The project, designed by Plattenbau Studio and constructed by Spaceforms, provides for both an enhanced Reading Room experience with both shared and private work spaces and audiovisual capacity, as well as a new Archive room with support for high-resolution scanning. This project was part funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media.

On the 7th May, we hosted our first workshop, led by US-based Josh MacPhee and entitled “Resistance is a Visual Language”. This is just the start of a busy calendar of events in the create offices. We also look forward to welcoming artists and anyone working on collaborative, socially engaged arts, to book the space for research and meetings. Material is reference only but photocopying/ scanning is available in accordance with the terms of copyright law.

To make an appointment, or for advice on our catalogue or stock contact info(at)create-ireland.ie or call 01-4736600.

Dr Ailbhe Murphy Research Residency

On the evening of the launch, outgoing chair of our board Clodagh Kenny announced the Dr Ailbhe Murphy Research Residency, in honour and remembrance of our former Director, Dr. Ailbhe Murphy, who sadly passed away in May 2024. Ailbhe’s commitment to supporting collaborative arts practitioners and to deep and rigorous research have inspired this award.

The Research Residency is designed to support an established collaborative arts practitioner with a research-focused practice. The successful artist will be awarded €12,000 and a suite of supports over one year to develop their thinking and delve deeply into the wider context in which their collaborative practice takes place. They will be hosted within Create’s new Reading Room & Archive and offered access to materials within these collections, as well as being provided with one-to-one advisory sessions with members of the Create staff team and external partners.

The successful artist will receive further support of other organisations aligned with the values and practice that were so strongly evident in the work of Dr. Ailbhe Murphy. Our partners at IMMA and NCAD will provide practical supports such as one-to-one advisory sessions, as well as access to research material and archives related to collaborative arts. The Dr Ailbhe Murphy Research Residency will close to application on the 5th June 2025. Please see full details on this page.