Totally Dublin 1
Artist-run space PP/S marks three decades with a
new anniversary programme beginning 25 June, featuring exhibitions, performances, and collaborative projects. WORDS Iqra Siddiqui or three decades, one organisation has refused to let the artistic flame die out. Pallas Projects/Studios, a not-for-profit artist-run space, marks its 30th year in 2026 with a wide- reaching programme that proves how self-determination and consistency lead towards growth. Founded in a run-down former knitwear factory on Foley Street in May 1996, Pallas was established to fulfil the lack of space for artists. Fresh out of college, co-founders Mark Cullen and Brian Duggan looked at the empty culture landscape and decided to create the one. “Brian Duggan and I left college around the same time,” recalls Mark Cullen. We were driven by do-it-yourself culture- the idea of going out and creating the kind of culture you wanted to see in the world.” Thirty years later, the same spirit has grown into something far more community-driven. The anniversary programme, titled Do it Together, is a riff on that original punkish autonomy. The space that is built around collaboration. Over the years, Pallas has transformed temporary spaces into a space for art, staging hundreds of exhibitions and projects, and providing studio spaces for artists. It has supported generations of emerging, earlycareer, and established artists. This evolving, site-responsive practice eventually found a more stable foundation in 2012, when the organisation settled into its long-term home in the Coombe in Dublin Liberties. When Pallas moved to Coombe, the area was still filled with artist studios that had seen little major development. By 2021, its research showed a sharp decline, with 27 studio buildings closing across Dublin since 2012. These included spaces such as Broadstone studios, Block T Smithfield, Moxie studios, The Market Studios, New Art Studios, and Steambox. “It’s changed an awful lot since we first set up in the 90s,” Marks explains, “the city was expanding rapidly in the Celtic Tiger era. There was warehouse space available, but they were being taken off the map.” Gavin Murphy, co-artistic director, highlights the precarious reality of being an artist today: “Artists don’t practice in a noncommercial way of approaching life, culture, and society without relying on other people’s goodwill and forging creative partnerships.” Despite the temporary locations, Pallas has survived through pure tenacity. “You just need a lot of dedication, Murphy admits with a laugh. “Only the art of keeping going was needed.” They added: “After the 2008 crash, new kinds of spaces opened across the city, and for the first time, we were able to secure a long-term base rather than constantly moving between short leases.” “Before that, we were always on the edge, constantly shifting between monthly leases, but now we are on a long-term lease that has changed our presence in the area. That longterm has allowed a deeper connection with the local community.” To celebrate three decades of survival and creativity, Pallas has put together a special programme of events, exhibitions, and collaborations. It runs from June to October 2026. Celebrating 30th Anniversary programme with an opening event featuring AA Bronson and Paul O’Neill The anniversary programme kicks off on June 25 with a major talk event at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art): AA Bronson in conversation with Paul O’Neil (director of PUBLICS, Helsinki. This is not merely a simple programme; it is a lineage call-back. AA Bronson, a pioneer of collaborative practice since the 1970s (co-founder of General Idea Art Metropole in Toronto), represents the continuum of self-organized art that Pallas champions. Back in 2016, Pallas published the landmark research project ArtistRun Europe. “We felt that the history of our practice in Periodical Review #7 selected by PP/S & RGKSKSRG (Rachael Gilbourne & Kate Strain), installation view.e Photograph by Kasia Kaminska courtesy Pallas Projects/Studios 19