`When artists move in, it gives an area a certain glamour. Then the prices go up and the artists get kicked out because they can't afford to live there any more." This, of course, is true of Dublin's Temple Bar area; not long ago it was a maze of tumbledown warehouses where artists painted happily in their low-rent studios and bands rehearsed to their hearts' content; now it is one of the city's most sought-after commercial prospects. Meanwhile, the phenomenon whereby artists can no longer afford to work in an area they have made sought-after is something painter and sculptor Benedict Byrne of the Visual Arts Centre now sees happening all over Dublin.
"The opportunities for getting a studiospace in the city are decreasing," adds painter Mark Pepper, also from the Visual Arts Centre. "The commercial rents property owners can get for buildings now are huge, and artists can't afford those rates. Art needs facilities. Expenditure is required, especially if you're a sculptor. You need equipment. And you can't be doing it in your back bedroom."
The Visual Arts Centre has eight artists and is one of the oldest group studio in the country. Formerly based in Great Strand Street, the group was forced to move when plans for a thoroughfare for the Millennium Bridge (as part of the Harp development in the Smithfield area) earmarked their building for demolition. Following negotiations with Dublin Corporation and Harp (Historic Area Rejuvenation Project), the group was offered its current premises, 5-5a St Michan's Street. The arrangement is temporary, until something more permanent can be found, but they are delighted.
"We were very lucky," says Byrne. "We asked them if we could remain in the area as part of the Harp programme - because after all, we are a group of working artists and the programme is a cultural one, to revitalise the area. We were one of the few cultural groups here."
Pepper adds: "They revised their policy to accommodate us." The current building, an old fruit and vegetable storage space, includes vast coldstores with no natural light: this, as one artist, Donald Teskey, attests, is a disadvantage for a painter. It is also very cold: "We'll freeze in the winter," says Pepper. "But it seems like wherever we are, we always freeze in the winter." There is at least plenty of space, and each working area is cordoned off from the others.
"The only studio space that is ideal is one that has been custom-built," says Byrne.
The Visual Arts Centre is supported by the Arts Council, which contributes towards the running costs of 14 group studios around the country. Group studios are the only way many artists can afford a studio space: "On our own we'd never be able to afford anything - certainly not in Dublin anyway," says Byrne. "Most artists prefer to stay in Dublin if they can. This is where the galleries are, and the exhibitions."
"The shortage of affordable studio spaces in Dublin has been acute for the last three years," says Stella Coffey, executive director of the Artists' Association of Ireland. "The property boom is pushing the artists out. There is a need for safe, warm studios, because those that are available tend to be Dickensian. The Visual Arts Centre has been lucky in finding help in getting alternative accommodation - that is not typical, but it shows there could be a role here for local authorities to help out." She says the Arts Council promised to review the situation three years ago but "it was not addressed in the three-year plan". According to Nessa O'Mahoney, head of public affairs at the Arts Council, "the issue of studio space for visual artists will be discussed in some detail in the autumn".
A former neighbour of the Visual Arts Centre, the 50/50 Studio, last month closed due to renovation plans for the building - and because the artists couldn't afford the increasing rent. The eight members have not located alternative accommodation. One of them, installation artist Sandra Meehan, recalls their excitement back in 1992 when the Great Strand Street premises was found: "There were five of us, recent graduates from NCAD. We wanted to keep working in Dublin. It was easy then to find a space. We found just what we wanted. It was very central. It certainly wasn't hopping like it is now: there was no Jervis Street Centre, no Morrison Hotel." Another member, artist Geraldine Fox recalls: "There were plenty of muggings. You'd hear shouts from the street and someone would have had her bag snatched."
Gradually, the area began to be developed: "We'd see the changes happening around us and wonder how much longer we'd be able to afford to stay," Meehan recalls. "You can't blame the landlords. It's just that the driving force behind Dublin society now is money. In the 1980s the economy was depressed, but at least it was easier for artists to feel included."
"I can't afford to rent another studio, it's too expensive now. I'm toying with the idea of converting the loft," says Fox. "But working at home isn't ideal. You get caught up in the domestic routine." Meehan acknowledges that there are some studio spaces in Temple Bar - Temple Bar Studios (where the rent is £15 a week), and at 11 and 16 Eustace Street - but "you go on a waiting list. Those spaces are hard to get." Another 50/50 member, illustrator Adrienne Geoghegan, is moving to Wales: "50/50 had so many advantages. There was a lot of camaraderie, all of us working together. The rent was great, only £67 a month per person. You couldn't get anywhere for that now.
"The boom in Dublin is helping some people, but I don't think it's having much of an effect on artists. They are moving out of the city in greater numbers. Not everyone can convert their living space into a studio, and even living space in Dublin is very expensive."
Manorhamilton in Co Leitrim may sound far removed from the buzz of the arts scene in Dublin, but there is already a lively community of artists which has moved there, not least because of rising costs in the capital. Jackie McKenna, a native of the town, turned a building on the main street into what is now the Leitrim Sculpture Centre. Other artists who have moved to the area include Niall Walsh, Anna MacLeod and Seamus Dunbar.
"I had wanted to buy a place in Wicklow, but even in 1994 it was too expensive - plus I couldn't get a mortgage," Dunbar, a sculptor, recalls.
"We had been renting and the landlord wanted the place for himself. We looked all over Wicklow, north Wexford, Kilkenny and Meath, but we couldn't find anything."
Dunbar wanted a house and a separate studio space. He also wanted to be near a town: "Leitrim seemed very remote then, but Jackie is a great motivator! I found a cottage on the edge of Manorhamilton, with an out-building I could use for a studio. The price was very low, which meant it was easy to get a mortgage, and we've spent the last few years doing it up. Things have really taken off down here. I used to teach at the Firestation Studios in Dublin, and now I do much the same at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre. A lot of younger artists get paid by FAS to come and train here and some of them have stayed. Locals do the courses as well. The County Enterprise Board has recognised this groundswell of incoming artists and has been amenable about giving grants to develop buildings for studios. Visual Leitrim has been setting up exhibitions. All in all, I don't feel I've missed out by coming here."
Others still struggle to maintain a foothold in Dublin. Painter Claire Halpin, along with four other artists, has recently moved into a new studio on North Brunswick Street. Rent is £45 a week each: "It's expensive but worth it because we have a three-year deal, and it only took us two weeks to fit it out." They had been in negotiation for the rental of a warehouse space from Harry Crosbie: "It is a big space, suitable for 12 artists. But it's a shell: we would have had to put in heat and windows. Plus the rent was £50 a week with VAT on top."
Harry Crosbie responds: "As a property company, we have the largest stock of warehousing in the city, and we rent our space for every conceivable requirement. We always give the best possible deal to the arts and to city centre community groups. Often we give the space free. But the age of `the shed' has come to an end. Land has become so valuable that all sheds - ideal for studios and rehearsal spaces - are being developed now. It's a competitive market. We get calls every day from groups looking for spaces. What the city needs is a large low-rent facility for artists." He is currently thinking of renovating a loft in Ossory Road, East Wall, with this in mind.
Meanwhile, on Foley Street, the artists of Pallas Studios face the prospect of having to move in February because the landlord wants to redevelop the building. Their studio, an old knitwear workshop, is a large, open-plan space which has been divided into 15 working spaces rented out at between £80 and £100 per month. Although facilities such as toilets and drinking water are limited, there is plenty of light and space.
The administrators, Brian Duggan and Mark Cullen (who founded Pallas Studios four years ago), are renting an office in the building next door: "We've set up this office so we can at least retain an administrative centre after we are forced to vacate the studio," says Duggan, a sculptor. "There are no other galleries at this end of town trying to promote young and contemporary artists." Pallas organises exhibitions several times a year, some of them in London, and has recently taken on a community arts officer. "We get no grant-aid from the Arts Council towards our running costs," says Duggan. Three of the 15 members are in receipt of Arts Council studio rental assistance grants, and the Arts Council does give assistance for Pallas's shows.
Finding an alternative space is proving a challenge. "Everything - including derelict buildings - is getting developed, and landlords don't want to sign long-term leases." Duggan believes one of the reasons Foley Street is now being redeveloped is that "we brought a different feel to the place - it used to have a reputation for being dangerous. We moved in and brought new people to the area, both our own artists, and the people who come to see our shows."
Currently Pallas is in negotiation with Dublin Corporation: "We're hoping to work something out," says Duggan. "If all the artists have to move to Leitrim, it will be a serious loss for the city."