“My work is about people. It’s being a companion to the artist and a companion to the public. To develop something together, in dialogue, across a long period of time, that enables our personal development, but also enables us to engage in the social discussion of the moment.”

From volunteering at a festival in Coimbra, Portugal, as a politicised 18-year-old, to being the first ever Portuguese person to attend an MA in curatorship at the Royal College of Art in London, to his vision for a further five years at Sirius Arts Centre, Miguel Amado reflects on his directorship over the past five years and the Irish art scene more broadly.

“It’s this idea of needing to narrate your existence, and how you look and where you come from, and the complexity of yourself, and it’s having to do that in circumstances where you’re not sure exactly if every part of who you are is welcome.”

Alice Rekab’s Clann Miotlantach / Mythlantics is on in Sirius Arts Centre. The exhibition is, held both in the conventional gallery spaces of the institution and, for the first time, in its basement. Rekab is an Irish/Sierra Leonean artist based in Dublin who explores themes of familial and artistic connections, diaspora, and sense of place and belonging.

In the summer of 2024, works started on an extensive three phase restoration project at Sirius Arts Centre. Led by JCA Architects and Moroney Conservation, the works to the building began with restoring some of the features that architect Anthony Salvin designed for the RCYC clubhouse all the way back in the 1850s.

In the third and final instalment of Changing Tides, join conservation architect Gareth O’Callaghan to hear all about the exciting and ambitious works, some of which are completed, and some of which are underway, and hear an outline vision for the future of the historic building.

Changing Tides is supported by Cork County Council and the Heritage Council under Cork County Council’s Heritage Plan Funding 2024.