Art festival at Cork city's Counting House

FOUR Cork art, design, and craft organisations are teaming up to celebrate and support local creativity at the former Beamish & Crawford Counting House site.

The STAMP Festival of Creativity returns to Cork City from May 19 to 21.

In its second year, the festival will showcase the Counting House, to which the public will have access for the first time since the completion in 2021 of the €30m regeneration project.

STAMP Festival offers a glimpse inside this unique building to enjoy event highlights such as a market in the Counting House plaza, craft and design demos, artist-led workshops and a group exhibition showcasing the works of local artists, designers and craftspeople, all taking place inside the former brewery restored by BAM.

The mixed-use 150,000 sq ft development — which includes 70,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art office space, as well as room for retail, exhibitions, and a riverside restaurant — has remained unoccupied since contractors BAM completed its restoration and expansion.

Cork groups Benchspace, Cork Craft & Design, Sample-Studios, and Shandon Art Studios have come together to offer Corkonians and visitors alike a jam-packed weekend programme of over 50 art, design and craft events, exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, screenings, and markets.

Alasdair Henderson, executive director, BAM Ireland, said: “This cultural festival celebrates the talented artists and craftspeople in such a fitting setting, a rejuvenated landmark building in a historic location which preserves a piece of Cork’s heritage and artistry for generations.”

Last year, STAMP was run across 11 different venues. Sample-Studios artistic director, Aoibhie McCarthy, has welcomed the possibility of showcasing the festival’s creative events all in one venue.

“We wanted to find a way of coming together this year to showcase our work in one creative hub through workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions and a market. The Counting House is a really unique venue that allows us to do that,” Ms McCarthy said.

Visitors are invited to try hands-on workshops, including screen printing, basket weaving, pottery wheel throwing, and frame making.

Demonstrations will also be open to the public to view jewellery making, woodturning, and oil painting in a series of live demos.

STAMP has been made possible by the support of Cork City Council, BAM, the Arts Council of Ireland and the Creative Ireland programme administered by the Cork City Arts Office.