“This outcome stands in direct contradiction to stated commitments to support Irish arts, cultural employment, and equitable access to cultural life in Dublin.”
As previously reported in Totally Dublin, The Complex, Dublin’s multidisciplinary arts centre in the D7 Markets area, announced just before Christmas, that it had been given notice to close on January 14th 2026.
The news arrived as a shock to the city’s arts community, for whom the venue has served as a rare and valuable combination of eighteen studios, a gallery, and a large performance space in the north inner city. Based in former warehouse buildings in the Markets area near Smithfield, the centre offered space for rehearsal, exhibition, and live work to exist under one roof.
Up until today, The Complex was the only multidisciplinary arts centre operating in Dublin’s north inner city. Formed in 2008, over the years it became a welcoming home to visual artists, theatre-makers, musicians, designers, and more, providing workspaces and platforms for a wide range of creative practices.
Now its closure not only raises immediate questions for the dozens of artists who rely on it, but also highlights the increasingly precarious landscape for independent arts spaces in Dublin.
In a statement announcing the devastating news on Instagram, Vanessa Fielding Artistic Director/CEO said, “The Complex will close following the failure of Government and Dublin City Council to secure a viable resolution for an arts organization that has operated continuously in the north west inner city for 18 years.
During that time, The Complex developed into a nationally and internationally recognised centre for contemporary Irish arts, supporting hundreds of artists, freelancers, technicians, designers, producers, and staff, and providing sustained cultural infrastructure in an area of the city with limited access to the arts.”
She continued, “Despite prolonged engagement and repeated assurances, no workable solution was delivered. The loss of The Complex represents a failure of cultural policy, accountability, and long-term planning within the public system.
Our efforts have also been frustrated by an inflexible landlord, focused exclusively on achieving vacant possession, to maximize the redevelopment value of the site.
This outcome stands in direct contradiction to stated commitments to support Irish arts, cultural employment, and equitable access to cultural life in Dublin.”
Through its work over the past eighteen years, The Complex built a solid reputation for inclusive, experimental, community-driven art and has offered a platform for work that often fell outside mainstream institutions. It has been regularly funded by the Arts Council since 2018 and by Dublin City Council since 2010, and has been regarded by both funders, as well as by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport as an integral part of the city’s cultural infrastructure.
Losing access to affordable, long-term studio space in Dublin, which is already in extremely short supply, presents both practical and financial challenges, particularly for artists working outside commercial or institutional frameworks. Beyond the studios, the potential loss of the venue would disrupt exhibitions, rehearsals, performances, and commissioned work scheduled well into 2026.
The Complex has been a rare environment in which artists from different disciplines coexist, collaborate, and present work to the public, often at an experimental or developmental stage. Its closure not only displaces individual practitioners but damage a wider creative community built over almost two decades, with consequences that have massive impact beyond just the building itself.
As we said previously, ensuring the survival of spaces like The Complex requires a combination of targeted investment, long-term planning, and public support. How these pieces come together in the coming weeks and months will determine not only the centre’s future but also the health of Dublin’s independent arts scene.
For the city we love, and the arts scene it claims to foster, the question is where to next? A question it’s in everyone’s interest to find the answer to, and urgently.
All of us at Totally Dublin wish Vanessa, the team and everyone associated with The Complex over the years all the very best as they embark on the next chapter.
Words: Martina Murray and Kate Greene
