Dublin Cultural Toolkit
Assessing the need for cultural infrastructure across the city of Dublin
Conceptualising Dublin City Council's (DCC) cultural vision as part of the Irish Government’s long-term national strategy, “Project Ireland 2040”, from which “Culture 2025 (A National Cultural Policy Framework to 2025)” connects overarching policy framework for the arts, culture and creativity policies.
Cultural infrastructure enables authentic cultural experiences to live and breathe as a core part of successful cities, today and in the future.
Cultural Infrastructure Study
Our Strategic Communications team managed the preparation for a Cultural Infrastructure Study for the city of Dublin to provide DCC with an understanding of the scope and quality of existing cultural infrastructure and facilities in its administrative area, the sectoral requirements for the incoming plan period, the regional and spatial planning policy context and the current cultural policies, benchmarking Dublin with other Irish, UK and European cities and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) best practice guidelines.
Our role included an assessment of nature and quality of cultural infrastructure across the city, including workspace, rehearsal space, performance space, civic cultural spaces alongside cultural venues and retail. We also mapped the infrastructure, undertook benchmarking interviews and delivered an integrated approach to stakeholder engagement.
The study has provided Dublin City Council with an understanding of the scope and quality of existing cultural infrastructure and facilities in its administrative area and an appreciation of the future needs of the city.
The study has directly informed a dedicated chapter on 'Culture' for the first time as part of the draft Dublin City Development Plan 2022–2028, emphasising the city’s dedication to workspace and culture-led regeneration. As a result of the recommendations of the report, two further pieces of work have been instructed.
Dublin
Cultural case studies
The project delivered a feasibility report for a proposed €19 million Creative Campus in The Liberties on behalf of Dublin City Council’s Arts Office, supporting its Urban Regeneration Development Fund application. As part of a multi-disciplinary team, we led a co-design engagement strategy and social feasibility study to address the growing shortage of artist workspaces in Dublin.
Feasibility studies were completed for sites at Bridgefoot Street and 8–9 Merchants Quay, exploring refurbishment and new-build options. Through primary and secondary research, we identified demand for workspace from approximately 1,200 artists across the city, with 41% actively seeking studio space. Alongside extensive stakeholder engagement, we managed project communications across political, arts and media sectors.
We were the primary authors of the Feasibility Report and subsequently developed business cases for both sites. To inform the study, we conducted the largest artist workspace survey on the island of Ireland, analysing responses from more than 500 artists. The consultation and media campaign achieved a combined online reach of around 90,000 people and generated over 750 responses through surveys and workshops. Following presentation of the findings, Dublin City Council progressed plans for a 40-studio building at Bridgefoot Street, while 8–9 Merchants Quay advanced to planning design and construction stages in early 2024.
Our Strategic Communications team was appointed by Dublin City Council, in partnership with Arrow Architects and theatre producer Arthur Lappin, to prepare a feasibility and concept report for a proposed 500-seat cultural venue in Dublin. The study assessed need, venue typology, sustainability requirements and site suitability, culminating in a conceptual vision to guide future site identification and development.
As part of the project, we undertook a spatial analysis of Dublin’s cultural infrastructure, including existing venues, cultural hubs and recent venue closures. Combined with a detailed policy review, this informed an assessment framework to identify the most suitable city-centre locations for a new venue. We also engaged extensively with key stakeholders, building on consultation undertaken through the Cultural Infrastructure Study, including a questionnaire distributed across the cultural sector to capture current and future needs.
The study identified a significant gap in Dublin’s cultural venue provision, particularly between 200–300 capacity spaces, with no theatre currently available between 180 and 1,100 seats. Survey findings showed strong support for a new 500-seat venue, with 83% of respondents in favour. The research highlighted the venue’s potential to support and attract major cultural events, including the Dublin International Film Festival, New Music Dublin and Dublin Fringe Festival. It also concluded that, to maximise creative, audience and financial impact, the venue should be located in a sustainable and accessible site between the city’s two canals. The completed report was presented to Dublin City Council’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee in July 2023.
In March 2022, Dublin City Council’s Arts Office and the Arts Council commissioned a research project to assess arts and culture infrastructure in Dublin’s North Central Area (NCA), following the identification of limited cultural provision in the locality. Our Strategic Communications team designed and managed a quantitative-led survey targeting artists and community members, and co-authored the findings report with audience research agency Thrive, which conducted complementary focus group research.
The study combined extensive survey data with qualitative insights from focus groups to explore current cultural infrastructure, levels of usage and perceptions of future arts provision. The research successfully identified a clear need for a stronger cultural presence in the NCA, highlighting opportunities to enhance local arts and culture through increased support for artists, cultural organisations and creative infrastructure.
Cultural Infrastructure Toolkit Launch
The power of collaboration through effective engagement with the cultural eco-system’s diverse stakeholders and an expert focus on social value is key to catalysing meaningful change.
Our Strategic Communications team produced the new guidance and toolkit on behalf of Dublin City Council, alongside ARROW who wrote the schematics. The initiative was developed to provide practical assistance to developers to meet the obligations under the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-28, which places a requirement to provide 5% of floorspace of large-scale developments for arts, cultural and community uses.
Download the report to explore the published guidance.
