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Island City – Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail offers an exciting and unique approach to public artworks for a City Centre. Located on the central island of Cork City, the trail is easily walkable and compact. It’s designed to appeal to those who live and work in the city centre and visitors to Cork. The trail illuminates Cork’s unique and rich heritage in an intriguing, playful way. Collectively the works create a series of experiences and draw attention to the character and qualities of the city streets. Highlighing social and cultural points of interest in the city’s fabric for all who have the pleasure of encountering them. The trail can be experienced in daylight and after dark.
In 2023, Cork City Council initiated a new and ambitious public art project, “Island City—Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail.” This is the biggest single investment in public art in the City to date. Cork City Council delivered this project with its expert partner, The National Sculpture Factory, to create a new and unique cultural trail of five temporary public artworks for Cork city centre.
The approach to developing these special commissions was unusual. The artworks are designed to remain in place for five years. Taking a non-permanent approach, afforded the commissioners, artists, collaborators, and city centre business community a sense of freedom to take creative risks. Delivering new ideas and processes in contemporary public art to the city centre.
The Island City project was funded by Fáilte Ireland, under the Urban Animation Scheme, with commissioning and project support from the National Sculpture Factory.
Cork City Council’s vision for Island City: Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail was to revitalise the city through the commissioning of a trail of five contemporary artworks integrated into the urban fabric of Cork City.
Island City: Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail seeks to create a dynamic identity for Cork city centre through the commissioning of both permanent and semi-permanent artworks. The project recognises the value of art in the public realm and how it can positively contribute to the complex process of placemaking.
Cork City Council understands that supporting artists and commissioning art for the public sphere will contribute to the identity of Cork City, creating opportunities for shared ownership and engagement with diverse groups and enriching social spaces to make them welcoming to residents and visitors alike.
The first work a digitally mapped projection Christchurch Triskel selected through an open call for artworks to be digitally mapped and projected onto the façade of Christchurch Triskel on South Main Street, Cork. The artist selected for this commission are Brian Kenny, Tempus Futurum, (Winter 2023) and Elinor O’Donovan, Winter Sun (Winter 2024)
The other four commissions are physical interventions in the city centre sited at the following places; The Exchange Building, Cook Street, Carey’s Lane, and Coal Quay.
These were selected for their historical and social relevance and detailed briefs were developed by Valerie Byrne (ex-Director of The National Sculpture Factory) and Jennie Guy, (an independent curator) who devised the processes of commissioning and developed and selected the artworks for the trial with advisory panels.
