Developing Cork's Triskel

Intermedia, the annual festival of new and interdisciplinary art, is as good a showcase as any of the new uses of the expanded…

Intermedia, the annual festival of new and interdisciplinary art, is as good a showcase as any of the new uses of the expanded Triskel Arts Centre in Cork, which has just completed phase two of its development programme, writes Mary Leland. Intermedia, which began last week, continues until May 23rd (for details, phone Fiona Kearney at 021-272022). Not all the listed events are contained in Triskel; the entire city is the performance area for the different artists whose work will be on display, in performance or installed at locations as diverse as St. Augustine's Church, the Granary Theatre and several of Triskel's own spaces, including its new, "white-box" exhibition gallery on the ground floor. The revamped Triskel also has a self-contained education area, two attic studios for visiting artists, a new administration suite, storerooms and the transformation of the former cafe into a bar with a new restaurant for which the franchise is already out to tender. The development package cost £460,000. Despite the Arts Council grant of £200,000, and £135,000 from diligent fund-raising and rental income, Triskel also had to take on a bank loan.