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Sculpting Urban Commons: The Impact and Evolution of the National Sculpture Factory, Cork

Part 2 Dissertation 2023
Emma Nesbitt
University College Cork | Ireland
This dissertation presents an analysis of artistic and cultural common spaces within the urban realm of Cork City. Its primary focus is on the National Sculpture Factory, a former electric tramcar depot that was transformed into one of the city’s preeminent collaborative artistic workspaces. By means of interviews, meetings and drawings, this study endeavours to chronicle the evolutionary journey of the Sculpture Factory, illuminating its historical genesis and its contemporary significance. It also undertakes a theoretical inquiry into the relationship between the factory’s conception, its ongoing vitality, and its profound impact on Cork City. The research explores the prevailing sentiments of the four newly graduated artists who created the Sculpture Factory—and it seeks to unravel the ways in which the cohort of artists managed to exert their influence over the development of the site, challenging the prevailing top-down approach to urban development and unmasking the deleterious effects of late-stage capitalism on art.

This dissertation endeavours to elucidate the narrative by engaging in dialogues with key figures who have played instrumental roles in the genesis and continued success of the National Sculpture Factory.

Emma Nesbitt

Tutor(s)
Sarah Mulrooney
2023
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