Bringing life to Cork city

Matthias Rick of Raumlabor BerlinMatthias Rick of art and architectural collective Raumlabor Berlin and Emma Underhill of the UP Project are coming to Cork as part of the Points of View Lecture series. The free talks, taking place on Wednesday the 13th of Oct, will look at how Cork uses its public space to engage and bring life to the city. The talks give an opportunity for the people of Cork to give their views on how the public space can be used.

The Points of View and By the Artist talks, a series of 5 lectures and 5 artist talks, are designed to stimulate debate on the development of a new Cork City Council arts and cultural strategy for Cork City 2010-2015.

Raumlabour Berlin and the UP Project are at the forefront of the use of public space as a venue for social interaction and engagement. With each city presenting different settings, history and opportunities, the use of public space offers an opportunity for a constantly renewing artistic and cultural experience.

Matthias Rick of Raumlabor Berlin said that architecture plays a vital role in the regeneration of a city and improving the life and society of urban spaces. “We remember when architects were at the forefront of thinking about urban space, when they were dreaming of better societies living in better places. This era is now over. Raumlabor Berlin takes this vision of a better built environment and works to develop derelict spaces and buildings with uncertain futures and bring life and use to those spaces again.”

Emma Underhill, Director of the UP Project, said that the use of public space offers an opportunity to engage a much wider audience. “We believe in challenging the perceptions of what public art can be. By moving out of the traditional gallery space, we find new ways of reaching the widest possible audience. With every city offering unique locations, every installation and event is different, helping to keep the population engaged.”

Emma Underhill of the UP Project will be speaking at the Crawford Art Gallery at 1pm while Matthias Rick of Raumlabor Berlin will be speaking at the Atrium, Cork City Hall, at 6pm. Both talks are taking place on Wednesday the 13th of Oct.