“FRIENDS, GALWEGIANS, property owners, lend us your keys!” That’s the tone of a new plea for “artspace” in Galway which could benefit the local economy.
The initiative, known as “Space Invaders”, is already bearing fruit, according to Labour councillor Niall McNelis. He has appealed for more property owners to support the concept.
Space Invaders currently comprises a dozen artists, including three graffiti specialists, who have turned empty shops in Galway city centre into temporary galleries.
Such is the success of the initiative that the group has already quit its first premises on Eyre Square. It is currently borrowing a vacant unit, formerly a bicycle shop, in the Cornstore, near Charlie Byrne’s bookshop.
“The artists move in on a temporary basis – they clean, paint, brighten and lighten up the place, and they get to display their works,” says Galway artist-in-residence Margaret Nolan.
“The landlord benefits because it is so much easier to advertise a letting when it is already being used,” she said.
Galway City Council has supported the project by exempting the premises from rates during the temporary “occupation”, Cllr McNelis explained.
“There are 96 vacant units in Galway city, and many owners can’t drop their rent,” he said.
“This sort of lease-free, rent-free arrangement is positive for everyone involved,” he said. “We know it has worked when the property owner finds a new tenant.”
Cllr McNelis has a waiting list of other artists’ groups seeking similar space, including puppet makers, and graduates of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology who plan to make furniture out of trinkets and recycled material.
“They need a large space for this, and their project could generate jobs,” he said.
Graffiti experts Mr Nice and Aka Crap, along with photographer Reg Gordon, cartoonist Tom Mathews, artists Dolores Lyne, Noel Tate, Dymphna Curry and Margaret Nolan herself, are among the group exhibiting work in the Cornstore unit.
Art is what makes Galway “different, visually and socially”, said Nolan. The artists rotate as gallery curators, and keep a record of footfall for the property owner.
