€2.4 million is awarded to The Model arts centre from the EU/BMW Regional Assembly, providing a major boost of confidence for Sligo

An Architects drawing of the Future Model - pictured here is the new entrance and artist studios as viewed from the civic plaza, which is at the rear of the existing Model.

We are delighted to announce today the receipt of an award of €2.4million for our redevelopment project.  These monies will come from an EU fund for infrastructure development in Gateway  cities which was mediated by the BMW – Border Midlands Western Regional Assembly..

Official Press Release below:

The Model, one of Ireland’s leading contemporary arts centres, was today awarded funding of €2.4 million from the Border Midlands Western Regional Assembly. The funding is for The Model’s major redevelopment project which is currently underway, and due for completion at the end of this year.

Seamus Kealy, Director/Curator of The Model, spoke this afternoon of his appreciation at the announcement -

“These funds are a radical boost to our local economy and for the future of Sligo. The monies will ensure that we can meet many of our operational goals to have one of Ireland’s most unique and state-of-the-art cultural facilities. The Model will be the place to be in Ireland for all audiences.”

The award recognises the vision of Sligo County Council in leading this important development for the Gateway City, and will reinforce The Model’s position as an iconic cultural centre and leading visitor attraction.  This fund will help realise this ambitious project which, once completed, will place Sligo firmly on the national and international cultural map.

Chair of The Model, Bernadette O’Shea, also expressed her gratitude:

“We are hugely appreciative of this funding from the BMW Regional Assembly, not only financially but also in the wonderful endorsement it gives to The Model project.  This funding represents their support of a vision to invest in the economic, social and cultural development of Sligo through the provision of a world-class cultural facility and visitor attraction. We would continue to appeal to the local and national business community to match this investment in Sligo through the sponsorship of a named gallery, performance space or artists studio”

In the current economic climate, this announcement is sure to be a welcome one for the people of Sligo and the Arts and Cultural sector nationwide. It illustrates significant confidence in the project, and illuminates Sligo as a Gateway City, providing substantial investment in the region. It is estimated the award will contribute to the creation of an additional 23 construction jobs.

For The Model to receive such a significant award enhances and recognises the value of cultural investment and prioritises the development of Sligo as a modern, contemporary city.

Additional Information

The Funded Project: The Model is currently undergoing a major redevelopment, with a reopening due in spring 2010. This redevelopment will increase The Model in size and operations by one third. Programming and operations will expand to include a full-time, international cinema programme, to include nine new artists studios (including a residential studio and a music rehearsal studio), to house a 250 seat, purpose built performance space, to include a destination restaurant, and to continue housing one of the country’s most significant art collections. Upon re-opening, The Model will further develop itself as a cultural hub for audiences from all walks of life by further implementing these programmes with expanded facilities.

The Model, Home of The Niland Collection The Model is distinctive in Ireland as a multi-disciplinary arts centre that is led by the contemporary visual arts, houses a major art collection of national importance, produces innovative contemporary music and film programmes – all of which are mediated through an integrated Education programme. The Model is recognised internationally for its standards of excellence.

The redevelopment of The Model has been spearheaded by Sligo County Council and funded in part by the departmet of Arts Sports and Tourism’s ACCESS funds (2007) and assisted most recently by a capital award of €600,000 from the Sligo Borough Council.

Works for The Model’s major redevelopment are to be completed in December 2009 with the re-opening planned for Spring 2010.To read more about the redevelopment please visit our website or our blog (search for redevelopment) http://sligomodelblog.wordpress.com

Border Midlands Western Regional Assembly The BMW Fund is allocated from an advance payment of the EU Structural Funds to Ireland, representing a continuation of the Assembly’s commitment to the development of Sligo and other BMW Region’s Gateways and Hubs as designated under the National Spatial Strategy framework and prioritised in the BMW Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013.

The Border Midland and Western Regional Assembly was one of two Regional Assemblies established in 1999 by the Irish Government to give effect to the division of the country into two regions for Structural Funds purposes. For the 2007-13 funding period, the BMW region qualifies as a phasing-in region for Objective 2 funding (Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective).

The total monies for this fund were €17 million and priority was given in the appraisal process to projects which have a strong economic development rationale with good job creation prospects, and which best encompass and demonstrate appropriate urban design, innovation, appropriate scale and cost effectiveness.

A building in progress

Site Visit, originally uploaded by modelniland.

Model staff Aoife Flynn, Emer Marron and Denise Rushe paid a visit to The Model site with their camera in tow to report in on progress. The building has really taken shape with the roof now on the three-story extension and each of the rooms taking shape. Exciting times.

Click on the image to see the full range of pictures on our flickr page

The Irish Times picks up on The Model’s redevelopment progress…

As we plan and prepare for a number of our offsite programmes, check out what the Irish Times(page two if you have yesterdays hard copy!) wrote about progress on our redevelopment.

Article appeared in The Irish Times 14th April 2009 written by Marese McDonagh

WORK HAS started on redevelopment of a Sligo arts centre which has had its price tag reduced by €1 million thanks to the slump in the construction sector.

The extended Model Arts and Niland Gallery, which was to have been at the centre of a planned cultural quarter in Sligo, is now expected to be completed at the end of the year at a cost of €5 million, down from the original estimate of €6 million.

Sligo County Council says it has not abandoned plans for a €14 million two-storey museum beside the Niland, although the project is on hold “for the moment”. In 2007 the council unveiled plans for a multi-million-euro cultural quarter comprising the newly developed Niland Gallery, a €14 million museum overlooking the harbour and, in a second phase, a civic space incorporating an amphitheatre and plaza.

A spokeswoman for the Niland Gallery said yesterday that the changing economic climate had resulted in “a more competitive tendering process” and as a result the cost of the Niland project, which would provide 45 construction jobs, had fallen.

Construction started last week on the extension to the Niland Gallery, a former model school built in the 1850s, and will provide improved gallery space, a blackbox performance area, artists’ studios, education facilities and a restaurant.

State grants of €3.5 million have been provided and Sligo Borough Council recently approved additional funding of €600,000. Contributions from private donors are also being sought.

Project manager Bartley Gavin said the council intended to proceed with the museum once the Model project was well under way. He pointed out that Sligo was a designated gateway town and the gateway innovation fund was still operational under the National Development Plan.

“This commencement of the Model project is an important step forward in the delivery of a cultural district for Sligo which has the potential to be a driving force in the continued growth of the city, even more so in these testing economic times,” Mr Gavin said.

The spokeswoman for the Niland, which increased visitor numbers from 30,000 in 2001 to 65,000 in 2007, said it expected 80,000 visitors next year when the centre reopens.

The centre houses and exhibits The Niland Collection, which includes works by Jack Yeats, Paul Henry and Barrie Cooke.

During the works, the Niland is hosting two exhibitions at its temporary home in Castle Street, Sligo: Signals in the Dark: Art in the Shadow of War, and Medium Religion, featuring the work of over 30 international artists.