Cabinet approves latest stage of 'major' renovation of Cork's Crawford Art Gallery 

The Cabinet has voted to allow the latest stage of the estimated €30m renovation of the Crawford Art Gallery to go to tender, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

“Cabinet has given the green light to proceed with the project,” Mr Martin told The Echo.

“The Crawford is a national cultural institution based in Cork, its collection comprises of over 3,000 works of historical and contemporary visual arts dating from the 18th century to contemporary visual installations.

“Previous governments had approved an investment plan for the Crawford, there’s been a lot of work done through the strategic appraisal in 2019, right up to the current [time], with the project going out to tender.”

The gallery closed last September for the beginning of the renovation project, which is estimated will cost €30m, and is expected to reopen in 2027.

Designed by Grafton Architects and set to be delivered by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Crawford Art Gallery, the overhaul will add 50% more space for storage and exhibitions. A five-storey extension will be added to the building and a new restaurant will be built too.

Most of the Crawford’s 3,500 artworks will be kept in storage, but some have found temporary homes at the Cork Public Museum, the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, and Hillsborough Castle in Co Down.

Mr Martin said the renovation would see the Crawford upgraded to modern building standards and deliver a new structure for collection storage.

He added that the works would be “very sensitive” to the nature of the Crawford, which is a listed building.

“This is a very significant project in terms of design quality.

“It’s a major redevelopment project for the entire Crawford, and it’ll be a high quality architectural intervention at the heart of Cork city.

“It will also help deliver a civic plaza and a cultural quarter in Cork, so Cork City Council will be working in partnership as well in terms of the public realms aspects of this,” he said.

“It will dramatically alter the Crawford Gallery itself, so it’s a very big project.”

A spokesperson for the gallery said they warmly welcomed the news, and thanked “the Government, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, arts minister Patrick O’Donovan, and the OPW”.