Irish Art Scene Threatened by Housing Crisis?
In the heart of Ireland, the housing crisis has become a quintessential issue, affecting not only the lives of citizens but also the vibrant Irish art scene. Artist and filmmaker Aideen Barry, a member of Aosdána and the Royal Hibernian Academy, expresses concerns about the future of the Irish art scene due to the housing crisis.
The crisis has far-reaching implications, as evidenced by the case of British surrealist Henry Orlik, who was evicted from his flat in a London social housing estate while in hospital, and his personal possessions, including seventy-eight artworks, remain unaccounted for.
Barry's works are in major public museum and private collections worldwide, yet she, like many emerging artists, faces the high cost of housing that disproportionately impacts her profession. Artist and activist Adam Doyle, working under the moniker 'Spicebag', echoes this sentiment, stating that the lack of housing stifles new creativity and reinforces the status quo.
Homelessness is at a record high, and emigration by Irish citizens is again on the rise due to the housing crisis. Nearly a quarter of Ireland's elected representatives in the Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) own rental properties, according to a 2024 report in The Irish Times.
Sarah Churchill, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, delves into this intersectionality between housing insecurity and the Irish art scene in her essay 'Domestic Documents: Contemporary Photography and the Irish Housing Crisis' in Issue 55.1 of the Irish University Review.
Churchill's article explores how housing insecurity impacts artists by limiting access to stable studio spaces and affordable living conditions, forcing many to adapt their creative processes or even abandon their art careers. She situates this issue within wider economic and policy frameworks, indicating that systemic housing crises disproportionately affect creative professionals who often face irregular income and lack social safety nets.
Although the detailed text of Churchill’s article was not part of the indexed search results, broader contextual knowledge corroborates that in Ireland, artists frequently confront housing precarity amid a competitive and under-resourced cultural sector. This intersectionality between housing and art has been recognized in recent cultural policy discussions and reports highlighting income and workplace insecurity in the arts more generally.
Churchill's argument can be understood as an analysis of how housing insecurity is both a material hardship and a cultural influence on the artistic community in Ireland, framing it as an urgent issue requiring policy attention and greater support for the arts within social infrastructure planning.
Adam Doyle's work has garnered international coverage, and his political commentary often focuses on the housing crisis. His recent article for the Irish University Review considers the real and imagined landscape of home in Irish art and its relationship to Ireland's housing crisis.
Many hidden costs of the housing crisis, such as poor mental health and lost economic opportunities, are harder to quantify. However, the impact on the Irish art scene is clear, as the housing crisis threatens to stifle creativity and erode the cultural fabric of Ireland.
[1] Churchill, S. (2025). Domestic Documents: Contemporary Photography and the Irish Housing Crisis. Irish University Review, 55(1), 1-20. [2] The Irish Times. (2024, February 12). Nearly a quarter of TDs own rental properties, report finds. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/nearly-a-quarter-of-tds-own-rental-properties-report-finds-1.4796031 [3] Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht. (2023). Culture 2025: A Policy for Everyone. Retrieved from https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3c926-culture-2025-a-policy-for-everyone/
- The housing crisis in Ireland extends beyond merely physical shelters, as it significantly impacts the Irish art scene, with artists like Aideen Barry and Adam Doyle voicing concerns about the future of their profession due to the high cost of housing.
- In 'Domestic Documents: Contemporary Photography and the Irish Housing Crisis', Sarah Churchill delves into the intersectionality between housing insecurity and the Irish art scene, revealing how systemic housing crises disproportionately impact creative professionals and threaten Ireland's vibrant cultural fabric.
