Aoibhie McCarthy is Artistic Director of Sample-Studios, one of Ireland’s largest artist studios. As well as leading the strategic direction of the organisation, she oversees the provision of creative workspaces, gallery, professional development training and mentorship for 120 artists in Cork City.
Aoibhie participated in the Fundraising Fellowship Ireland programme from 2017 - 2019, working in the role of Marketing & Development Officer at Cork International Film Festival. One of her key successes was increasing corporate sponsorship by 72% in 2018 and 104% in 2019.
Tell us a bit about your background and how you got into the arts?
I began my career in the Education Department of the National Gallery of Ireland. After this, I got an MA scholarship in Curatorial Studies so I was based in Limerick City Gallery of Art as Shinnors Scholar and Education Curator. I worked on Festivals and arts initiatives around Ireland, including Limerick City of Culture 2014, Galway Fringe Festival 2015 , the Year of Irish Design 2015 and the National Adult Learner Awards 2016, before moving to Waterford to undertake the role of Visual Arts and Outreach Manager of Garter Lane Arts Centre and join the Board of Waterford Youth Arts. I became Marketing and Development Manager of Cork International Film in 2018 and joined the Business to Arts Fundraising Fellowship, alongside Fellows from Druid and Dublin Theatre Festival.
You completed the Fundraising Fellowship in 2019 and became Artistic Director of Sample-Studios. Can you tell us about how the FF influenced your transition into a leadership role?
The Fundraising Fellowship gave me the confidence to undertake a leadership role. I began in August 2020 - I was part time with the Film Festival, delivering the first fully digital festival mid pandemic, while also steering Sample-Studios through rolling lockdowns. The temporary closure of the workspaces forced me to think very differently about what Sample-Studios was and could be for artists. I began delivering online professional development, training and mentorship, sharing some of the tools I had learned through the Fundraising Fellowship. These supports safeguarded members’ resilience during this difficult time and enabled them to secure significant funds for their practices.
Front row L-R: Aoibhie McCarthy, Artistic Director, Carl Dixon, Chair of the Board, Eileen O' Hara, Board Member, Sinead Barrett, Programme Coordinator and Artist
Back row L-R: Sarah Jayne Booth, Board Member and Artist, Dr. James O' Sullivan, incoming Chair of the Board, Rebecca Bradley, Board Member and Artist and Kevin O' Keeffe, Facilities Coordinator
Since starting at Sample-Studios, tell us about what you’ve achieved in terms of fundraising for the organisation?
I immediately focused on diversifying and increasing income from public, private and philanthropic sources, increasing our annual turnover 250% within the first 12 months. Since then, our membership has tripled and our audiences have increased by more than 600%, supporting the growth of our self generated income. We welcomed business supporters such as ESB, Bank of Ireland and Gurranbraher Credit Union, as well as philanthropic supporters The Ireland Funds and Tomar Trust. Our major funders The Arts Council and Cork City Council increased our funding provision and we secured funds from new public sources, including Creative Ireland.
Sample-Studios won the award for Best Small Sponsorship at the BtoA Awards and have been shortlisted this year for the Best Philanthropic Support to the Arts, tell us about this and what the awards means for Sample-Studios?
We were thrilled that our community photography project PhotoGo, supported by Gurranabraher Credit Union, won the Business to Arts Award last year. This project really captured people’s imaginations and attracted over 4000 public votes for shortlisted photos which celebrated Cork City’s Northside and were displayed in the windows of our gallery, The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion.
In 2021, we were awarded the Cork Arts Fund which is supported by Tomar Trust to establish a new groundbreaking residency programme for artists from an asylum seeker, refugee or migrant background. Now it its 3rd year, our 5 residents are thriving and we’re delighted that this partnership has been shortlisted for the Best Philanthropic Support to the Arts Award.
What are some of Sample-Studio's future ambitions?
We just launched a new 5 year Strategic Plan 2023-7 which sets out an ambitious roadmap for the development of one of Ireland’s largest artist studios. We want to grow the provision of quality workspaces for artists, tailored artist residencies, increase the impact of our educational programming (which over 1000 young people benefit from annually) and present a programme of exhibitions in The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion that represent excellence in visual arts practice. We want to ensure that creative careers are launched, supported and sustained in Cork and actively prevent the haemorrhaging of talent from this region - fundamental to this is the need to secure more permanent studio premises. We are seeking partners to support us in our vision of creating Cork’s Cultural Hub, a space where artists can make great art work and contribute to a thriving City.
