Sample-Studios Announce the Appointment of Aoibhie McCarthy as Artistic Director

The Board of Sample Studios have made the appointment of Aoibhie McCarthy as Artistic Director of Sample Studios. Aoibhie McCarthy is an arts manager, curator and visual arts educator with over twelve years’ experience in project management, fundraising, multi-disciplinary programming and arts education. She is currently Marketing and Development Manager of Cork International Film Festival, a role which she has held since June 2018 when she was appointed the Business to Arts Fundraising Fellow.

 

After graduating with a B.A in Art History, Architectural History and English Literature from Trinity College Dublin, she worked in the National Gallery of Ireland, the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Gallery Number One, Dublin Contemporary and Whyte’s Auctioneers before securing the prestigious Shinnors Curatorial Scholarship, an M.A tracking PhD research scholarship by practice in the role of Education Curator of Limerick City Gallery of Art and eva International Biennale. She led visual arts programming at Galway Fringe Festival and Make a Move Festival before undertaking project management roles as part of significant regional and national initiatives such as Limerick City of Culture 2014, The Year of Irish Design 2015 and the National Adult Learners’ Festival 2016. In 2016, she was appointed Visual Arts and Outreach Manager of Garter Lane Arts Centre and Garter Lane Studios in Waterford, where she is currently on the board of Waterford Youth Arts. A native of Bray, Co. Wicklow, Aoibhie’s father is from Kinsale where her Grandfather, Denis McCarthy, was Town Clerk.

 

Commenting on the appointment, Carl Dixon, Chair of the Board of Sample-Studios said “We are delighted to welcome Aoibhie to Sample-Studios at this exciting and challenging time in our development. We support over 50 artists in our studios on the Northside of Cork City and we are looking forward to our 10th anniversary in 2021, with a major programme of free exhibitions in the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion and elsewhere around the city. We’re grateful for the ongoing support of The Arts Council and Cork City Council in making this new appointment possible.”

 

Commenting on her appointment, Sample-Studios’ new Artistic Director, Aoibhie McCarthy stated “I’m honoured to have been appointed Artistic Director of Sample-Studios, an organisation which has supported hundreds of artists over the last 10 years and is central to the fabric of Cork’s cultural life. It is critical for the continuation of Cork’s vibrant arts community that our artists are supported to make work, to push boundaries, to collaborate and innovate. I look forward to working with our artists, partners and supporters to continue to grow ambitiously and sustainably.”