Photo courtesy of Pretty Vacant Dublin

To date Pretty Vacant Dublin have organised 12 exhibitions across 10 locations and attracted over 5,000 visitors, Mayoral support and national and international media coverage, including the exhibition "See Change", displayed in the above photo.

How it started

In 2009 Louise Marlborough (Director and co-founder) returned to live in her hometown, Dublin, after 9 years of living abroad and travelling.

Ireland was in the grip of a recession. She couldn’t help but notice the huge number of vacant properties - not just down side streets and in the suburbs, but also on main streets and in city centre locations.

Pretty Vacant Dublin was the response: an attempt to turn a negative situation into a positive one.

We (the Pretty Vacant Dublin team) knew we could make these properties more aesthetically appealing and more attractive to a permanent tenant but also, with Louise's background in the visual arts, she wanted to provide a platform for artists to display their work.

She also wanted to bring art to a wider audience; one that probably would not visit a more traditional gallery space. Thus, where possible we chose properties with maximum access and visibility. In addition, our exhibitions were always free to the public.

Value of the project

Without funding of any kind, three things have made Pretty Vacant a success.

• 1. First, collaborations. Over the past 4 years we have worked with a diverse number of organisations in the city including Dublin City Council, Clerys (Dublin’s oldest department store), Fumbally Exchange and The Gaiety School of Acting. They kindly allowed us to use their empty buildings and in return we provided security and maintenance during our tenancy, and provided a free and positive advertisement for the building.
• 2. Second, it’s been vital for Pretty Vacant Dublin to have a strong digital presence. Effectively, as a mobile gallery, we do not always have an exhibition in the ‘real’ world. However our status as a leading online voice on the subject of empty properties, and our presence at www.prettyvacantdublin.com, and on Twitter, Facebook YouTube channel, helps us fuel the digital conversation and connect with people in an engaging way.
• 3. Last our artists and our army of helpers. Their passion and dedication helped deliver a new arts initiative to a new audience in a new way.

We think Pretty Vacant Dublin is just one potential solution to the problems the recession brought to Irish shores, but it is one that aimed to brighten the streets in a more involving way, whilst giving new artists a platform to shine.

Links and other sources

• For further information, videos, images and more, visit the Pretty Vacant Dublin website.