Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Visits Irish Arts Center In NYC, Announces 2.5mm In Funding

Irish Arts Center (IAC) has reached a critical milestone in its plans to build a new permanent home in New York for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. In the City on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Ireland's Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, today announced $2.5 million in support for the New Irish Arts Center, bringing Irish government funding for the facility to $8.3 million and the Center's Almost Home capital campaign over the $60 million mark (to $60.5 million). The New Irish Arts Center comprises two buildings: a state-of-the-art new facility that will be constructed at 726 11th Avenue, and a renovation of the Center's intimate current home, adjoining the new building, at 553 West 51st Street. Phase I of construction, the new building on 11th Avenue, is now completely funded and ready to begin. IAC continues to raise an additional $15 million for the second phase of the project-transformation of the 51st Street venue-and to create a long-term programming fund and endowment, securing the future of the organization.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar revealed the gift in a visit to the site of the new building, formerly occupied by Cybert Tire, a local auto repair shop founded in 1916. The Taoiseach said, "I am delighted to announce this additional grant from the Irish Government, which will mean that building work can get underway on the magnificent new Irish Arts Center in New York. The construction of the new premises is just the next stage in the development of this vibrant institution. The new landmark building will be a place for the Irish-and for Irish Americans-to tell their evolving story, celebrate our heritage, connect to future generations and reach out to other cultures in this great city. The Irish Government is proud to stand with the other funders, the City of New York and the State of New York, as well as private donors, in making this exciting project a reality.

"New York City welcomes the construction of the new Irish Arts Center, a historic new chapter in the long relationship between the City of New York and Ireland, and a vibrant space where all New Yorkers can get together and celebrate contemporary Irish and Irish American arts and culture," said Mayor de Blasio.

"We have a lot to celebrate today. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in New York City with us, and I welcome him on behalf of all of the New York City Council. I am also proud to support the development of this permanent home for Irish arts and culture at the Irish Arts Center. I am half Irish, and clearly very lucky because this beautiful new space is in my district. This center not only recognizes the contributions the Irish have made to the American experience, but also other cultures as well. I love its message of inclusion, and couldn't think of a better tribute to the Irish in America," said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

Aidan Connolly, Executive Director of Irish Arts Center, said, "We are honored to join Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson in welcoming the Taoiseach to New York, and gratified by the Irish government's visionary investment in this global platform for Irish artists."

Gerrard Boyle, Chair of Irish Arts Center's Board of Directors, said, "Thanks to the support of our stakeholders, including the City and State of New York, the Irish government, our many generous private donors, and most importantly the artists we serve, the New Irish Arts Center is no longer a distant dream, but an imminent reality."

Playwright Deirdre Kinahan, who has had three plays presented at the existing Center, said, "The Irish Arts Center is a vital and supportive nexus for Irish and Irish American arts and arts practice. The Centre not only presents a bellicose range of contemporary writers, dancers, storytellers and performers - but also provides for thrilling connections with New York's vast cultural network. This is where pandemonium meets! I see the Center as a kind of Grand Central for Dreamers!"

Irish American Choreographer Darrah Carr said, "For Irish American artists based in New York City, Irish Arts Center provides a vital space to celebrate our heritage and to imbue traditional forms with contemporary purpose. In the midst of New York City's highly competitive cultural landscape, Irish Arts Center nurtures deep relationships with artists across the disciplines and throughout all stages of career development. Through innovative and attentive programming that spans commissions, residencies, works-in-progress showings, re-stagings, and community outreach initiatives, Irish Arts Center provides a platform for new voices to emerge, gives a boost to mid-career artists, and honors long-time pillars of the Irish American artistic community. A trusted and caring presenter, Irish Arts Center is deeply invested in both artist and audience. In such a warm and supportive environment, creativity flourishes and new ideas find their wings to fly"

Phillip McMahon, Co-Director of thisispopbaby, whose hit show RIOT was recently presented by Irish Arts Center at NYU Skirball, said, "The Irish Arts Center is an incredible a champion for Irish artists in America, providing a platform for THISISPOPBABY to soar in New York, facilitating our premier performances in America and since then serving as partners, co-producers, instigators and friends. They are responsible for our recent show RIOT being a smash hit at Skirball NYU, and their work on behalf of us and other Irish artists is invaluable. We have much to thank them for, but our work together is just beginning."

Jim Culleton, Artistic Director of Fishamble: The New Play Company, said, "We are very grateful to the Irish Arts Center for presenting Fishamble's work, which has enabled us not only to reach a New York audience, but also to create many opportunities for the productions in the US and beyond. The IAC already presents a top quality programme of Irish work in its current humble facility, and the eagerly anticipated new centre will be a wonderful place for people to experience the best of Irish arts. I look forward to the opportunities it will generate for Irish artists in the future."

Irish Arts Center, founded in 1972 and based in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, is a national and international cultural home for contemporary Ireland and Irish America. The organization develops, presents, tours, and distributes work from both Ireland and New York-based artists and cultural practitioners, both established and emerging, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually transporting experiences-the results of innovation, collaboration, and the authentic celebration of our common humanity. Steeped in grassroots traditions, with a commitment to inclusion that dates back to its founding, IAC provides education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and a place for the Irish community to come together and engage with a dynamic global diaspora. The organization considers tradition as a tool for looking forward, to celebrate Irish and Irish American customs while emphasizing cultural fusion and inclusion.

Designed by Ireland's Office of Public Works (Wexford Opera House) and the New York architects Davis Brody Bond (National September 11 Museum), the New Irish Arts Center will augment the IAC's capacity for showcasing innovative and virtuosic talent, facilitating collaborations between artists from a range of cultures and artistic practices, providing compelling educational programs that complement the arts and heighten cultural understanding, and creating a diverse community in New York.

The new facility will house a flexible theatre for multidisciplinary performance, installations, residencies and special events; classrooms and studio spaces for community education programs in Irish music, dance, language, history, and the humanities; technology to stream and distribute the Irish Arts Center experience on the digital platform; and a spacious, vibrant, avenue-facing café lobby that will be a hospitable hub for conversation and interaction between artists and audiences.

The New Irish Arts Center will complement the urban context of today's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood while engaging in dialogue with history. Out of respect for the existing streetscape, the original Cybert Tire brick facade will be incorporated into the facade of the new building. It will be an architectural manifestation of "the old and the new," contributing to the city's urban fabric while serving as a global cultural home for contemporary Ireland and Irish America.

IAC will break ground on the new building by this summer, and will open it in 2020. IAC's current home on 51st Street will remain open during 11th Avenue construction. Upon completion of the 11th Avenue construction, the second phase of the project-including construction and renovations to the 51st Street building and theatre-will commence, and is expected to take 8-12 months.

Tomorrow (March 17, 2018), Irish Arts Center (IAC) celebrates St. Patrick's Day with the eighth annual edition of its acclaimed, citywide Book Day, in which the organization distributes free books by celebrated Irish and Irish American authors-and, this year, by writers of Caribbean heritage.The initiative-presented this year in association with the New York City Council, New York State Assembly, Literature Ireland, and El Museo del Barrio-exemplifies the Center's commitment not only to putting forward the best of Irish and Irish American culture, but also to creating bridges to other cultures. Beginning at 9am, IAC staff and volunteers will take to the streets across all five boroughs armed with literature by Irish, Caribbean, and American authors including John Banville, Junot Díaz, Jennifer Egan, Carlos Fuentes, Marlon James, Dorothy Macardle, Eimear McBride, Colum McCann, Frank McGuinness, Michael Schulman, Colm Toíbín, Tiphanie Yanique, William Butler Yeats, and many more.