In 2017, Sample-Studios moved from its original home in Cork City to Churchfield on the city’s Northside. Keen to embed themselves in the local community and stimulate arts participation in a chronically under-resourced area, they approached the local Gurranabraher Credit Union to develop a partnership. In 2019, the two organisations developed a project to celebrate their shared community of Knocknaheeny, Gurranbraher, Churchfield, and Holyhill – areas of significant socio-economic disadvantage – through creativity and the accessible medium of photography. ‘PhotoGo’ was established on Culture Night 2019 as a participative artist-led photography workshop for members of the public, with a public exhibition and competition.

In 2021, this partnership presented a public competition that engaged over 4,000 public votes, a month-long window-based exhibition in The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion which welcomed thousands of visitors, an innovative schools photography programme for over 100 students led by Sample-Studios member Kate McElroy, 5,000 commemorative calendars, and a digital exhibition.

For the Credit Union, it created a series of events and opportunities for Credit Union staff to engage and demonstrate its positive role in the community. PhotoGo addresses a specific business need in terms of marketing support, visibility, and positive engagement platforms, which extend its reach in local media and the Northside beyond the Gurranabraher area, enhancing positive brand recognition and challenging user perceptions of the role of the Credit Union in the community.

PhotoGo successfully engaged the whole Sample-Studios team, and created multiple platforms and activations. The addition of free school workshops in the last two years has engaged hundreds of TY students creatively with both their local credit union and Sample-Studios.