Plans are proceeding apace to provide Carlow with a contemporary visual arts centre of international standing.
An architectural brief will shortly go out for competition and the winning design is to be selected by September.
Building of the €7.6 million centre is due to begin in July next year.
The facility, to be known as VISUAL - the Contemporary Visual Arts Centre, will include the biggest single space for the visual arts in Ireland, as well as additional galleries, artists' studios and education workshops.
It will also, of course, have a café and, according to Carlow County Council's visual arts co-ordinator, Ciara King, "Every good café needs a cookie."
It was with that in mind that Slovenian artist Apolonija Sustersic was in Carlow at the weekend to join the judging panel for a competition to produce a cookie to be exclusively available at the VISUAL café.
The idea of a cookie contest was not as casual as it might sound. In coming up with the concept, Apolonija drew on Carlow's association with the sugar industry, through the long-established presence of the Irish Sugar factory in the town.
As well as judging the weekend competition, which was won by Bryan Leech, co-owner of Kilgraney House in Bagenalstown, Apolonija is designing a "simulation café" which will be set up in Carlow in August.
Local people will be invited to visit and talk about the planned arts centre and, of course, sample Mr Leech's cookies.
The VISUAL project, which is being managed by the Carlow local authorities, was allocated €3.17 million in funding last year under the Access programme administered by the Department of Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands.
A British study commissioned by the local authorities said the centre would have a "transforming impact" on Carlow's image and would earn the town international recognition.