The Arthouse charity auction brings art and community together for a worthy cause.
Every autumn, Dublin’s art scene comes alive with exhibitions, openings and opportunities to discover new artists. But there is one event that brings together art, community, and a very particular sense of purpose: Arthouse, Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre’s annual charity art auction.
Launching on 15th October, with final bidding taking place across Saturday, 7th and Sunday, 8th November, Arthouse brings together hundreds of artworks donated by artists from across Ireland and beyond, offering collectors, art lovers, and curious newcomers the chance to take home an original piece while supporting one of Ireland’s most important LGBTQ+ community spaces.
It’s an auction, but it is also a celebration of the relationship between artists and the LGBTQ+ community, and of what can happen when people come together to support a shared cause.
Art, identity, and queer culture
Art and queer culture have always been closely connected. Artists have created spaces to explore identity, challenge conventions, document experiences, and imagine different ways of living. At the same time, LGBTQ+ communities have often provided artists with places to find connection, inspiration, and belonging. Arthouse brings those two worlds together.
This year’s collection includes work from both established and emerging artists, spanning a wide range of styles, subjects, and approaches. From painting and photography to illustration, printmaking, and contemporary mixed media, there is something to appeal to a broad range of tastes and budgets.
For many of the artists involved, donating work is also a way of supporting a community and a space that matters to them. “I wanted to donate a piece because I think art should have a life beyond the person who creates it,” says artist Nick Munier. “If something I’ve made can help support a place that gives people a sense of belonging, safety and community, then that feels worthwhile to me.”
For Sinead Clarke, who has donated her print Long May She Reign, featuring the iconic Pantibar, taking part in Arthouse offered a way to connect her work with a community she values. “I think it’s amazing to have a space that feels so inclusive,” she says. “Outhouse offers such a wide range of services and events, but it’s that feeling of being welcome that stayed with me. I’m proud that my print can play a small part in supporting Outhouse.”
That sense of connection is part of what makes Arthouse different from a conventional art sale. The works have been donated specifically to support Outhouse, meaning that every successful bid contributes to the life-saving work taking place inside the centre on Capel Street.
More than an art auction
For 30 years, Outhouse has been a home for Dublin’s LGBTQ+ community. It is a place to meet people, find support, access services, attend an event, join a group, have a coffee, see a show, borrow a book, or simply spend time somewhere you know you belong.
The centre’s work has continued to evolve as the needs of the community have changed. Today, Outhouse provides peer support, community casework, referral services, social and cultural programmes, advocacy, educational workshops, and a wide range of community activities. The money raised through Arthouse helps make that work possible.
“Arthouse is such an important fundraiser for us because it brings together two things that are central to what Outhouse is about: community and culture,” says Outhouse CEO Oisín O’Reilly. “The incredible generosity of the artists who donate their work allows people to support Outhouse while also bringing something beautiful into their own homes.”
And that support matters. Community spaces don’t exist by accident. They depend on people choosing to invest in them, whether that is through volunteering, attending an event, making a donation or, in the case of Arthouse, placing a bid.
For the people who use Outhouse, the impact of having somewhere to go can be profound. As one Outhouse patron puts it: “Supporting Outhouse means supporting the pulsing heart of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Another patron describes what that sense of community can mean for someone who may never have experienced it before: “[By donating], you are supporting an organisation that offers an instant sense of community to people who may never have experienced that before, and giving them a space to be themselves, possibly for the first time in their lives.”
Find something you love
One of the joys of Arthouse is that you never quite know what you are going to find. There are pieces from some of Ireland’s most renowned artists alongside work from emerging artists you may be discovering for the first time. For those who already collect art, it is an opportunity to add something new to the walls. For anyone who has never bought an original artwork before, Arthouse offers an accessible way to start.
And while the opportunity to own an artwork is part of the appeal, there is another reason to get involved: every bid helps sustain a space that belongs to the LGBTQ+ community.
As Dublin artist Niall Staines says: “It feels like the world is becoming more and more divided, which makes it more important than ever to have spaces where people feel safe to be who they are. For me, donating my work to Arthouse is a small gesture to show that I care about and support the work Outhouse does, and the important space it provides for the LGBTQ+ community.”
The auction also brings people into the centre. Many of the artworks will be exhibited in Outhouse from Thursday, 15 October, bringing the public into the building and allowing them to experience the place their support will help sustain.
Ultimately, Arthouse is about more than what hangs on your wall. It is about what happens when artists and a community come together around something they believe is worth supporting.
Whether you are a long-time collector, someone looking for a special piece for your home, or simply curious to see what this year’s artists have created, Arthouse offers an opportunity to discover something new and contribute to something bigger at the same time.
So browse the collection, visit the exhibition, tell a friend and, if something catches your eye, place a bid. You might go home with a beautiful piece of art. You will also be helping to keep the doors of Outhouse open for the people and communities who rely on it.
Words: John Mee
ARTHOUSE launches on October 15th, with final bidding taking place across Saturday, 7th and Sunday, 8th November. Bidding can be done online at outhouse.ie/arthouse or through the ‘Outhouse Auctions’ app.
Participating artists include: Yoko Akino, Brian Teeling, Hazel Coonagh, Gabhann Dunne, Shane O’Driscoll, Carol Hodder, Tom Climent, Derval Freeman, Eamon Colman, Leah Hewson, Duc Pham, Colin Martin, Adrienne Boyle, John O’Donnell, Leah Beggs and many more.
