Flooded with natural light, Practice in Evidence houses an artistic community of high quality fine artists.
The collective operates as an open studio for public view with an open-air space for exhibiting large scale sculpture and screenings of independently-produced films. This is an artistic incubation space to facilitate artist networking and support.
Each floor is dedicated to emerging artists nominated by Crawford College of Art and Design and selected by a Sirius Art Centre-nominated jury. The artists are provided with a studio for 18 months and in exchange, they produce an artwork to be donated to the town, and complete their residency with an exhibition at the Sirius.
One studio is given to a revolving established artist who acts as mentor to the emerging artists and the collective gives monthly on-going peer reviews and supportive critique in a step-down manner. The mentor compiles a database of funding opportunities and assists the others in on-going funding application. A communal kitchen is available and accommodation is provided to one emerging artist in return for day-to-day care-taking responsibilities for the artists and building. At least one studio is dedicated to community-involved work.
The collective is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, Irish National Lottery, Cork County Arts Office, Creative Ireland 2020 and Enterprise Ireland, and is a model of excellence for potential art students offering portfolio preparation workshops at VAI daily rates.